Maybe tomorrow
by TheRealRogue
Summary: ROMY. Life's always been rough for Rogue, who's now with no home, and sees herself forced to use her power for a living.REVISED.I changed a couple of things on chaps 13,14,15. Please read author's note on chap 13
1. Chapter 1: Don't wait up for me

Wow it's so exciting to start writing a new story. I hope it turns out well! This one is a little more… dark? I'm not sure, you tell me ;-) Here we go.

Chapter 1: Don't wait me up.

_Saturday, 6:40 am. _

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes, was a white roof with humidity stains in its corners, and a few black spots of God knows what. He was lying down, feeling like he had just finished sweating out a fever, because his forehead was cold and his body, tired. He finally took a glimpse down at himself, and then looked around: nothing seemed familiar; not the bed with beige sheets and flowered cover, or the white and bare dressing table, or the brown carpet. Sitting down, he passed both hands through his hair. No, this wasn't a hangover (he would have easily recognised it); it was something else, like his brain had been drained or… The closet; he fixated his eyes on the wooden door, and everything immediately flowed back to his mind.

But the hotel room was empty; there were no signs of her presence in there anymore, either in drawers, bathroom or closet, like she would have evaporated herself in the air. Perplex, he decided to walk out the door and face the dawn, only to find that the place where he had parked his car, was now empty. Then, he instinctively checked on his pockets: the keys weren't there, and neither his wallet. Cursing, he punched the room's door with a fist, wondering how could someone have dared to steal a master thieve.

(…)

_Five days before: Monday, 10:50 pm. _

There was a car repair shop on the other side of the avenue; it was closed at this hour, of course. In here, the parking lot of the hotel had only about four or five cars, and that was pretty much everything she could see from her spot: sitting in a step, right under the frame of the door. It was windy, but she never liked to stay inside the room for a very long while: it made her feel kind of trapped. The French fries were good, but she would have liked them to be a little more salty, or less cold. She heard a door being open, somewhere in the corridor, and a few moments later a couple passed walking in front of her, heading to the street. She stared at them until they got lost in the darkness.

Entering to her room, she closed the door behind her, and went straight to a corner of the room:

"Hey, Sugah, yah hungry?"; she let a fry fall inside the plastic container, where a small turtle _hurried_ her way towards its dinner. She watched it eating and chewing for a few moments, and then threw the fries' package to the garbage container. The mirror in front of her reminded her that the good thing about being all alone, like this, was that she could wear shorts and no gloves, if she didn't want to, at least for a while. She sat down in Indian position on the unmade bed and found her purse under the sheets; white bangs covering half of her face, she started to count the money: five, ten, fifteen dollars: it was all she had, and it wouldn't be enough to pay for the room the next day. She closed her eyes and sighed: would she have to do it again?

She stood up, her bare feet feeling the fluffy carpet, and stretched her back and arms. Yes, it was time.

There weren't too many items hanging inside the closet; she grabbed a black mini skirt, a pair of black school-girl stockings, a red and tight turtleneck sweater and black gloves. When everything was on, she stared at her reflection in the mirror again: it wasn't herself anymore; she just had become this girl for a while. The only skin she left exposed were her face's, and a small part of her thighs that the skirt and the stockings left uncovered; yes, men liked that kind of outfits. Then, black eye shadow, mascara, red lipstick. She liked to put no colour on her cheeks, leaving them as pale as they were. With her purse on her hands, she turned towards the turtle:

"Don't wait me up, 'kay?". But then, she realized she hadn't decided the place to go. Clubs always worked, but it always took more time and more flirting, and she really wanted to go to sleep soon. She didn't want to look at herself in the mirror again before leaving the room.

It was even windier than a while ago; good thing that the mini skirt was tight. Walking down the sidewalk, she noticed how different the same street seemed at night; or maybe it was just her.

She walked about five or six blocks, finally reaching the spot she had used a few days ago: next to a park. She was glad to see that there were no other girls around, probably because it was Monday; maybe it was their day off. She wouldn't miss them, or their insults, anyway. She took a deep breathe, placed her hands on her hips, and waited. Cars were passing by very fast; the first time she did this, she could feel that people were staring at her from behind their windows, even though she wouldn't see them. By now, she had gained some kind of resistance to it, almost to the point of not really caring about it.

A blue car slowed down and stopped, right by her side.

"Expensive ride, dark windows, nobody around: guess it's mah lucky day" she thought, smiling falsely.

"Hi, Sugah".

This was a chubby middle aged man, who seemed to be short; he let out a creepy smile when fixated his gaze on her well covered breasts.

"How much?" he barked, licking his upper lip and moustache.

She had to go on with it; she was there already, she couldn't step back.

"We'll discuss that later; Ah assure yah Ah'll worth it".

The man doubted for a couple of seconds, but then took another glimpse at her, smiled, and opened the passengers' door.

She was in there now, there was no way out. There was nobody around, so she just had to do it, and fast. Smiling at him again, she started to take off one of her gloves, but then, it wasn't necessary: the guy, who was almost drooling, extended his right hand and placed it on the exposed part of her leg. She closed her eyes as he fainted.

Trying not to pay attention to her hard breathing, to the pain on her head, to the flashes and memories appearing on her mind, she pushed his body against the driver's door, and then took his wallet: 240 dollars; lucky day, after all. She put the money inside her purse, and jumped out of the car.

The way seemed to be longer that when she went through it, a few minutes ago; she crossed two or three people, but she didn't care, because she just wanted to get to her room and zip her brain until the next day. Her hills were hurting her feet so bad; she hated hills, and she hated that man. She hurried as mush as she could, forcing her legs to go as fast as possible, focusing her mind on them, instead of this guy's life: his dreams, wishes, and most private thoughts; they were all inside of her now.

When she finally got to her room, she let herself fall backwards on the bed, feeling tired, staring with empty eyes the white, stained roof.


	2. Chapter 2: Or maybe not

Note: After posting chapter 1, I was wandering around, and then one word came to my head: ceiling! It was the only word I could repeat over and over again for the next couple of hours. What I mean, is that I wrote "roof" and it was supposed to be "ceiling". I promise I'll be more careful, and I hope I can keep learning English, though, God, it seems like no matter how much I think I know… I really don't. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. And in this chap, there's a little piece of Stereophonics' song "Maybe tomorrow".

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

Chapter 2: Or maybe not.

_Tuesday, 8:05 am._

Rogue was hugging a pillow when she first opened her eyes; the grey drapes allowed the entrance of a line of sunlight that was hitting her right on her face, so she lazily turned to the other side of the bed. There they were, on the chair: the red sweater, the stupid stockings. She closed her eyes again not to see them, and like that, she started to imagine that maybe when she'd opened them again, she'd be somewhere else, but not in another random hotel room, in another random city; maybe she'd wake up in somebody else's life. Every night she went to bed with the same abstract idea, of getting up the next day and see that her luck had changed; maybe tomorrow things would be better, and days would stop looking so alike. But lately, she was starting to realize that things don't really work that way.

Anyway, she felt better now: the previous night seemed so far away, like it'd have been just a dream, or a story she heard somewhere. She finally decided to come out of bed, and after picking up her hair with a hair clip, she grabbed some crackers for breakfast. Then, she wondered what she would do this day: she could go wherever she wanted to go, do whatever she wanted to do, and give no explanations to nobody; that was a good thing for her, specially after all the things she had gone through. Now, she was in control of her life, no matter how lonesome and useless it could seem. But, hey, maybe tomorrow things could be different.

"Or maybe not" she sighed.

(…)

_Same day, __1:30 pm. _

"_I've been down and  
I'm wondering why  
These little black clouds  
Keep walking around  
With me,  
With me…"._

She loved to walk down a street, listening to her mp3 (she thought an ipod would be a waste of money, and she really didn't need it), and at the same time, to look carefully at people's faces, their attitudes, their gestures; because sometimes she felt like her and the rest of people lived in separated worlds, and by seeing them, she could have a certain idea of what they were. It was a cloudy day, and also a little cold, but her denim jacket was enough to keep her warm; it was so good to be walking like this: totally anonym, just another girl among the crowd.

She pushed the door open of a small coffee place, where they also sold croissants and that kind of things. After sitting on the bar stool, she ordered a coffee and a sandwich; she knew that perhaps she was eating a little too much flour and milk lately, but who cared: she always stayed slim.

There was a notice in the wall: "Help wanted"; then, she stared at the girl that was serving coffee a few meters away. She couldn't do that. She couldn't just show up at a place and ask for a job, simply because she was on the black list of mutants that had worked with Mystique and people like her; wherever a person was going to get hired, he or she was searched on the list, that now was everywhere on the internet; you're not on it, you're welcomed; you are, you better take your evil mutant butt out of my place. It happened to Rogue once, so she had to found another way to make her living. At least she had a lot of free time… to deal with the bunch of borrowed memories inside her head.

The coffee was hot, and it burnt her lips a little when she tasted it.

(…)

_Wednesday, 6:40 pm._

With a bag of popcorn in one hand and a grape soda in the other one, Rogue sat down on a seat at the bottom of a movie theatre. They were going to play one of those independent movies she used to watch; she liked them better than the Hollywood ones. In the aisle of seats in front of her, a girl and a boy sat down, and they didn't really seemed to be interested in the movie, that was just about to begin. After rolling her eyes every other second for about one minute, while they were cuddling and kissing, she couldn't handle it anymore, so she changed her seat. She didn't know what bothered her the most: the fact that they wouldn't have let her watch the film in peace, or that she was never going to be able to do what they were doing. Well, maybe she did know: the second thing was indeed the worst.

She tried hard to focus on the movie, but her thoughts went far away, time to time. It wasn't just that she was all alone, it was that maybe she was going to be alone all her life; and it was good to be independent, but someone to hug at the end of the day wouldn't be bad; or to cuddle, or to kiss. No, she would never have that. Every time a guy would be interested on her, and every time she'd flirt with him, it would only be to take away both his money and his memories. And it was better off that way, because, what if she ever fell in love? What would she do? To have another motive to suffer like an idiot? She filled her mouth with popcorns, and decided that she would never fall in love because it would be stupid; it would make no sense.

When the movie was over and she came out the theatre, it was dark already, and it was raining really hard. The guy that was kissing the girl gave her his jacket; Rogue turned to look away before they left, holding hands. She waited a little, hoping it'd stop raining, but it didn't, so she put the hood of her sweater on her head, and started walking. Soon, she was completely soaked, but also learnt that she liked to walk under that rain. She had to look for a shelter in this kind of day to day, simple things, that were nice and that she had never noticed before; she had to do it, because otherwise, she would probably get dry inside.

She started to run; "home" was only a few blocks away.


	3. Chapter 3: One more won't hurt

Disclaimer: The X-Men are mine! No, I'm just kidding.

Chapter 3: One more won't hurt.

_Thursday, 3:50__ pm._

The park definitely looked very different under the sunlight: a guy jogging, a girl walking her dog, a few skater kids, old people walking by. All of them shiny, happy people; but they would leave before 7 or 8 pm, because after that hour, the children's games and the dog's barks were replaced by cigarettes and heels.

But Rogue was wearing sneakers today.

There was a boy standing next to a tree, playing a guitar; nobody seemed to be paying too much attention to him, but she decided to go and take a look. His hair and his clothes were kind of messy; maybe what he collected in his guitar case (only a few quarters at the moment) wasn't enough to afford somewhere to stay. Rogue felt sympathy for him, especially when she realized that he was playing and singing Hanson's song, _Weird_. She liked it a lot; she had it on her mp3.

"…_Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,_

_hoping that my luck will change.  
Reaching for a hand that can understand, _

_someone who feels the same.  
When you live in a cookie cutter world_

_being different is a sin.  
So you don't stand out._

_And you don't fit in... Weird…"._

She smiled at him, and then dropped 10 bucks in the case; every time she paid for something or she let go some of her money, she felt like she was also letting go a part of someone's memories.

Then, she decided to go and sit on a wooden bench. She had already spent almost two months in that town, and maybe now it was time to take the big step: moving to a bigger city, and when she said _bigger_, she really meant it. It was scary at the beginning, but not anymore, because she knew that she could make it. Besides, what on earth attached her to this place? Nothing: she didn't have a thing either there or somewhere else, so she could perfectly just pack up her two bags and leave. She had been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks, but now, with the sounds of the boy's guitar and the wind in the trees' branches as a background, she knew that the moment had come; yep, Sunday would be a good day to do it.

(…)

_Friday, 10:15 am. _

The clothes were spinning inside the washer, in front of Rogue's green eyes. She was sitting, her back totally rested against the wall, and in her right hand she was holding a half eaten chocolate. The self service laundry was large, and there were about ten or twelve people in there, neither of them talking to each other, each one minding their own laundry bussines; it was a very impersonal place, but then, she thought that maybe it was her the impersonal, whatever that could mean.

She checked on her blue jean's pocket for cash to pay the laundry; sometimes she felt like she was running out of money too fast, even though she always tried to spend only on essential things. Realizing of this, she had to think about something she had been postponing since the previous night: she needed more money if she was moving out, and it was a fact; the bus ticket, food, a place to stay once she got there, and who knows what could happen on the way, and being penniless in the middle of a highway is never a good thing to do. She needed it if she wanted to, if not change her life, at least change the environment around her. It was Friday, which meant it would be a crowded night at that club she had already gone about five or six times; going there was certainly less discomforting than going to the park. At a club, guys were always like flies around her, so she just had to pick the one that seemed to have more money. Besides, it was slightly nicer to pretend being an easy girl, than to pretend being a whore.

The washer finally stopped; Rogue took out the clothes and put them inside the dryer. Then, she sat down again and finished her chocolate; outside, cars and people were passing by; maybe one of those guys out there would be her next victim. Anyway, she never felt very good in the afternoon, when she knew she had to _go to work_ at night: it was stealing. She was a thieve, and she wasn't yet comfortable with that.

"Well, yah've done it plenty o' times, gal. One more won't hurt" she murmured to herself.

(…)

_Same day, 11:10 pm. _

There was nothing interesting on the tv, so Rogue turned it off, and threw the remote control to the floor. Even thought she wouldn't be leaving the city, she would have to do it anyway. It was always the same old routine: waiting for something that would force her not to do it; realizing that that "something" would never come; accepting again that this was the way her life was working; standing up and putting her make up on. Always the same thing, once or twice a week, depending of how much money she had at the moment. So she stopped fighting against the unavoidable, and started to change her clothes. The same little black skirt and stockings, because they always worked really well, though this time she pulled them up a little more, so there was pretty much no skin exposed; a dark violet turtle neck top, with no sleeves, a black but transparent cardigan, black gloves: everything tight, everything carefully planned to cover but, at the same time, to emphasize each curve of her body. When she was putting her make up on, she avoided to look into her own pupils in the mirror.

"So, it seems like Ah'm ready" she said, staring down at the turtle. "Yah bettah finish your food 'fore Ah get back, 'kay?", and saying this, she grabbed her purse and left the room.

(…)

_Same day, 11:59 pm. _

Once Rogue went through the entrance door, she realized she hadn't been wrong: there were a lot of persons in the place, all of them either dancing, or drinking, or trying to find someone to get laid that night. She didn't like too much that kind of places either: too much people too close from her. But she swallowed hard and started to scan the place, in the search for the right man:

"This one: too poor. That one's with a girl" and like this, she started to describe inside her head each man that crossed her way: "Broke... Broke… Psycho… Broke…". Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone by her side, and before she could turn to see, he spoke:

"Lookin' for me_, chere_?".


	4. Chapter 4: That'd be great

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men.

Chapter 4: That'd be great.

_Friday, __11:40 pm. _

Remy LeBeau parked his car in an alley next to a club. He had been sent to this city to find certain information, but now that his task was done and that he didn't have to go back home until the next day, he wouldn't just find some place to sleep and go to bed. No, he preferred to do that last thing in good company. Besides, every time he happened to be in a different city, he loved to go and enjoy its night life, since that's pretty much what he was: a night person, both because darkness and shadows are much appreciated when you're a thieve, and also because, well, the night was just way more fun than the day. So he jumped off his ride and walked confidently towards the front door.

He immediately liked the place: the music wasn't excessively loud, which was always good to accomplish a good conversation, the lights were low; it was in general the type of place he used to go. He went straight to the bar, asked for a drink, and then sat on a stool. A brunette girl sitting by his side couldn't help to notice him, turning towards him, smiling. He smirked back at her and was about to invite her something to drink, but then a man arrived and placed his arm over her shoulders, making the girl gasp and turn around.

"Oops" the Cajun thought, transferring his gaze to the rest of the people in the place. "So, let's see who's de fortunate _fille_ dat's gonna go home with Remy t'night".

He had already spotted two or three attractive girls, but then he turned towards the entrance door and instantly forgot about them: a few feet away from him, he saw auburn straight hair with a few white bangs in the front, green eyes, large eyelashes, light mauve tempting lips, and clothes that were mostly black, covering a jaw-dropping body. And there was something so appealing about her besides her beauty. She was different; he knew it when he saw that her gestures where sort of shy, but yet inviting. Remy smiled on his inside, and promised himself that he wouldn't leave the club without her.

He took another sip of his drink, licked his lips, and went get her, walking through a few people on his way.

"Lookin' for me, _chere_?"; he made sure to say this in the most charming way his player's manual had ever taught him, speaking very close from her ear. The girl quickly turned towards him, meeting his eyes and showing a slight expression of surprise, probably caused because of their colour, but she composed herself right away and stared at him from head to feet, which, needless to say, pleased Remy very much. She smiled, and took the drink from his hand:

"What do yah think?"; never missing his eyes, she took a sip.

"I think we both be in de right place at de right time" he grinned, receiving back his drink; yes, he had definitely made a good choice.

"Lucky us, then".

"Lucky me, for bein' talkin' right now t' de most beautiful _fille_ in dis place"; he saw her narrowing her eyes a little, but never loosing that thing she was doing with her lips, and that had him hypnotised: it was like she was tasting something utterly delicious, or like she was about to blow a kiss.

"So, yah're the flatterin' type o' guy, aren't yah'?".

"I'm a _connoisseur_ of beauty type of guy, _chere_".

"Really? 'Cause, Ah mean, yah could have said Ah've got a nice… nose, or whatever, but _the most beautiful girl in the place_, isn't that kind of a cliché?".

"_A_n' would it be a cliché if Remy invites ya a drink?"; saying this, he placed a light kiss on her gloved right hand.

"Nah, that'd be nice, indeed. An' mah name's Sam… Samantha, but call me Sam". There were a lot of reasons why Remy had always been a skilled thieve, but one of them was that his gut feeling never failed; and this time, his gut feeling told him that, because of the way she had pronounced her name and the fast and a little nervous blinking she did, that wasn't actually her real name. But that didn't matter, did it? So he decided to go on and call her whatever name she wanted to be called.

They walked closer to the bar and he asked a drink for her.

"Ya truly be de most _belle fille_ in dis place, Sam, but I'm sure it's not de first time ya hear dat".

"An' Ah'm sure it's not the first time yah say it; told yah Ah know your type".

"What type would dat be, den?". She rolled her eyes before answering:

"Yah know, the one that acts cocky an' mysterious, 'cause they know that's gonna make 'em look sexy". Remy smirked widely and came a little bit closer to her:

"Sexy, ya said?".

"Mmm, yep, Ah think Ah did".

"Den I guess we're equal in de flaterin' department, aren't we?".

"Ah guess" she smiled mischievously, in a way that made Remy's neck and back shiver.

"An' ya, what type of girl are ya, _chere?_".

"What's with the _chere_ thing?".

"Come on, ya know ya like it" he winked.

"Kinda… What type o' girl do yah think Ah am?" she shot back.

"A very uncommon one, I'd say: beautiful, smart; a girl dat don't really come t' dis places a lot". She looked a little puzzled with this:

"Why do yah say that?".

"'Cause Remy can tell".

"Well, Remy's right, actually. Ah don't know, Ah just felt… lonely tonight", she stared into his eyes and then looked down.

"But not anymore, _cherie_".

"Yeah, that's right" she smiled, and immediately he started to come close to her, until they were only a couple of inches away.

"Wait! Wait… it's…" she stopped him.

"Oui?"; was she going to step back? He hoped not.

"Nah, nothin', Ah'm sorry" she said, placing her white bangs behind her ear and staring into his eyes again. Remy knew this was the right moment to say it, so praying to his Cajun ancestors for everything to work out, and holding her hand again, he spoke on a low voice:

"Ya think we should go somewhere else, _chere_? Somewhere more quiet, where we can… talk?". Her eyes narrowed again, as she said:

"Yah know…"; he grew up in suspense as she bit her lower lip; his heart was beating fast and he didn't if it was because of her hesitation, or because he was starting to get impatient. But she finally said: "That'd be great, Sugah".

Remy paid for their drinks, and they went out of the club, holding hands.

Note: if you hear a little voice up there, inside your head, telling you "review, review!", please listen to it! I'd be so glad to know your opinions. Thanks so much for reading:-)


	5. Chapter 5: Just do it

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men.

Chapter 5: Just do it.

_Saturday, 12:45 am._

Remy opened the door of the black car for Rogue to come in, and once she was inside, she had to take a deep breathe; her hands were almost shaking: What was that for? She had played this exact same game many times before, using the same _Ah was feelin' lonely_ line that always made men drool and think she had fallen for them. What was different this time? Perhaps that besides that little phrase, the rest of the conversation had actually been genuine and fun; she didn't have to lie (if we don't count the _Sam_ part) or to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She did enjoy their conversation; she did think he was sexy.

And that was the strange thing: every time she was with one of these guys, she just wanted to go straight to the point and finish the whole thing as soon as possible, touching their faces with her bare hand; she never really liked to talk too much once they were alone because that would probably make her feel guilty, and anyway she'd get to know them really well once their memories where inside her head. But this time, when Remy got on the car and closed the door, leaving them all alone and with no people nearby, Rogue could have easily done it. She could have given him a little kiss on the cheek, or caressed his ear, or just let him do as he wished, then take his wallet and run away.

But she didn't.

"Wait, wait!" she yelled, pushing him away with both hands when he tried to kiss her.

"Uh, why _chere_? Is everythin' all right?"; she thought his bewildered face was rather funny.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just that… Ah'm not much into exhibitionism, an' Ah don't know, anyone could come walking an' it'd be really weird, so why don't we just wait 'til we get somewhere else?".

"'kay, don't worry", he winked, but she could notice a hint of impatience on his eyes.

Rogue knew that when she'd touch him she'd never see him ever again, so she was trying to postpone that moment as much as possible. She wanted to talk to him, to know him, to hear that _chere_ coming from his lips; but where did she want to take this? She didn't know, but she did know that with each minute that would go by, they'd be going further, and further, and with no possible way out for her.

"So, tell me, _cherie_, any special place ya wanna go? 'Cause I don't really live here; I'm kind of a tourist". Rogue swallowed hard before speaking, like she was afraid that he could have heard her thoughts:

"Yah don't look like a tourist".

"Remy never lies".

"Yeah, that's obvious… why don't we go t' mah place then? It's not far away".

Her stomach started to jump; she never took them to her hotel, because how would she get rid of them later? She didn't understand what she was doing, and as the car started to move and she began to explain Remy the address, she knew that she'd have to leave the town that same night.

(…)

_Saturday, 1:10__ am. _

"So, here we are, Sugah". Rogue pointed out, while they were getting off the car, right in front of the door of her temporary home.

"Ya really live here?".

"Yeah; let's say Ah'm kind of a tourist too".

"More things we've got on common, den".

"Besides?".

"Besides we like each other". Raising a brow, she turned to face the door, trying to find the key inside her purse. But suddenly, one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, pressing her body against his, and making Rogue's knees wobbled; her heart started to beat so violently that she thought it could probably be heard a mile away. As she desperately tried to find the key, one of his hands went down her hip, and she begged to the heavens that he just touched her leg, and got it over with. But damn, he didn't; his hands never left the fabric of her clothes, and when she was finally able to open the door, she pushed it and came in right away, separating herself from his grasp.

As he came in and closed the door behind him, she stared at him, a million thoughts running inside her mind, but one of them was particularly overwhelming her: desire. Had she ever desired anyone? Not really; she had had crushes, but she had never felt this insane thing she was feeling all over her body. And she felt so ashamed, at the same time, because it was stupid from her feeling this way, because she knew in a few minutes this man wouldn't be conscious anymore and furthermore… because she was going to let him down. It was weird, but she didn't want to disappoint him; she didn't want to…

"Well, this is mah place: not too big…" he was staring at her with a smirk on his face, running his gaze up and down her body. "That's mah roommate" she pointed out, childishly trying to change the subject.

"Pardon?" he looked around confused, and then saw the little turtle. "_Dis_ be yer roommate?".

"Yep, its name's Sugah".

"So ya call me de same way ya call dis… little guy?" he said, amused.

"Yeah".

Then, there was silence as they both looked at each other; Remy started to walk towards her, but she moved away.

"Sit there" she asked him, showing him the bed. He narrowed her eyes and grinned:

"What yah be plannin', chere?" he said, while doing as she had asked. What was she planning? She had no idea. But then, he saw a playful glitter in her eyes, and she placed herself with her back against the closet door, right in front of Remy.

"Just watch".

Se didn't want to think about anything, and less of all, if what she was going to do was right or wrong; the only thing to do was to let herself go, to feel, as much as that could be applied to her. Would she regret it later? Whatever; she just wanted to live right in that moment, with him completely mesmerized by her.

Never stopping looking at his face, she started to unbutton the black cardigan, slowly, enjoying the look on his eyes. When it was out, she let it fall down the floor, and then took off her gloves. It was the top's turn.

_"Chere_, Remy can help with dat…" he said, standing up.

"No!" she shrieked, and he sat back down in surprise. "Just… let me do it myself… 'kay?".

"If ya like it like dat…".

"Ah do. Just watch, don't be impatient" she smiled, and he nodded. The top was off now, letting exposed a dark purple bra. Her body was almost trembling when she slid down the mini skirt and it fell on the floor. She had never felt so exposed, so vulnerable…

"So… dis is what beauty looks like, hein?" he murmured, staring at her pale body.

"Lay down" she commanded him.

"But…".

"Just do it!". He had never been with a girl that was so "in charge", but since he was always ready to experience new things, he obeyed.

Rogue walked slowly towards him, her brain burning and shivers running down her spine. Then, she sat on top of him, and immediately grabbed both of his arms with her hands, pressing them against the bed, so he wouldn't touch her with his bare fingers; he didn't fight back.

They couldn't stay like that forever.

It was time.

She approached her face towards his, their eyes connected by some kind of force, unknown to her until this day.

"Ya… ya're so beautiful _chere_" she said again.

"Am Ah?" she smiled sadly.

Everything happened almost at the same time: Rogue releasing his arms, his hands then grasping her waist, their lips joining into a kiss. But it only lasted one second.

Note: Uf, it was hard to write this! Hope it's ok. Please drop me a review! ;-)


	6. Chapter 6: And nothing's any good

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or the song I use in this fic.

Chapter 6: And nothing's any good.

_Saturday, 1:55 am. _

The floor and walls were covered by white tiles in the cold and small bathroom; a sound similar to a buzzing could be heard, produced by the fluorescent lights. There was also a round mirror cracked in half, where Rogue's barely covered body was reflected like it was broken in two pieces as well. Maybe it was her mind the broken one, because her eyes were open and filled with tears, but she wasn't really looking at herself in the mirror; she was trying to figure out all the things appearing inside her head. Remy was a mutant. She didn't have to take hand of any memory to realize of this, for when she first tried to open the bathroom's door, the knob went sparkling red, and exploded; good thing she had learnt to manage other people's powers, so it wouldn't bother her. And then those other things: the guild, the X-Men, and his not very bright past; he was a thieve too.

Combing her hair back, she went towards the washbasin, and washed her face repeatedly with plenty of water, black make up drops rolling down her cheeks. She felt sleepy, tired, and guilty, even now that she knew about his life; because she could have thought that maybe he didn't deserve her to feel bad about him. But, who was she to judge him? She hadn't been exactly a saint when working with Mystique, and she wasn't a saint now either. Maybe they were actually similar in some aspects, like he had mentioned; of course he wouldn't have imagined all this.

Rogue approached to the bed where he was lying down, and sat by his side. Then, passing a finger over the collar of his trench coat, she focused on every detail of his face: his brown and a bit long hair, his ears, his badly shaved chin, and she specially liked his nose: it was definitely a strong, arrogant nose. And he smelled so good; it was a mixture of cigarette smell, cologne and something else, she didn't know what, but it was just so pleasant.

"Sorry Sugah…" she carefully started to check on his pockets. "Ah'm gonna have to take this". There was plenty of money inside his wallet, but she didn't want to count it, at least not right then. Looking around, she sighed; reality was imminent: she had to leave.

Rogue put on the first clothes she found (blue jeans and a sweatshirt). She had a backpack and a bag in the bottom of the closet, so she quickly started to fill them with all of her stuffs, spread out all over the room. It was hard to close one of the zippers, but it was finally done.

"Don't think Ah'm gonna forget 'bout yah" she said, picking up the container where the turtle was sleeping, head and feet inside its shell. Rogue had started to get used to this room; it wasn't nice or very cosy, but it had been her place to come at the end of the day. She had slept and cried on that bed so many times, and now Remy was lying on it. Yes, life was weird.

"Ah guess Ah'll see yah later then… or not. Bye" she told him on a low voice, opening the room's door.

The first thing she saw on the other side was his car.

(…)

_Saturday, 6:__30 am. _

After driving for a few hours in the dark, it's always good to suddenly realize of how the light of the day starts to reach everything around. It refreshes your mind, and gives you new hopes in some way; taking this in, Rogue decided to make a halt. She jumped out off Remy's car so she could stretch her legs a little, and decided to sit on the bonnet, to take her breakfast: cookies and a soda.

"Here Ah am again: goin'… somewhere. Always fantasizin' of things gettin' better once Ah'm there" she told herself. "But nope, sir; nothin' changes. It's always day after day, an' nothing's any good". With a hand, she swept away the cookie crumbs from her sweatshirt, and then smiled to herself when the image of Remy staring at her from the bed, appeared on her mind. It had been one crazy, insane, absurd thing to do, but she didn't regret it one bit. If life was about the moments you live, then those moments she spent with him were priceless, even though he probably wasn't a good candidate for any girl to take home and introduce to her parents. But did that matter to her? Not at all, since she knew she'd never have any candidates, good or bad; heck, she didn't even have parents. So, yes, she would keep locked inside her head those moments forever; maybe not everything was so bad, after all. She returned to the seat of the car, put her earphones on, and started to drive, singing along with The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony:

"…_No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,  
but I'm here in my mold , I am here with my mold,  
and I'm a million different people from one day to the next  
I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no…_

…'_Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony this life…". _

(…)

_Saturday, 4:20 pm. _

Rogue was exhausted. She had had absolutely no sleep the previous night, and after driving for over twelve hours, her brain was just about to collapse. Arriving to the big city before the night fell was the only thing she wanted to do; stopping and taking a nap would be a big risk: she had a stolen car! So she just wanted to get there, abandon the damn car wherever, and find a place to sleep. But her eyes closing by themselves every few seconds and that sensation of fever she was starting to have, wouldn't do any good.

"Come on, talk to me, keep me awake" she commanded the turtle. "Tell me a story 'bout… lettuce, or anythin' else yah like". _Sugah_ only blinked and then returned to its dead-like self. "What a huge help yah're; thanks, Ah appreciate it".

She decided to join all her willpower, and keep her eyes open. She only needed to stay like that around two hours more, and she would be there.

"Ah can do this…".

Her vision was getting blurrier and blurrier…

"Just a couple hours more…".

A bunch of images started to flash on her mind: faces, names, places she didn't know; and then Remy, and the room she had lived in, and the streets of the city she had walked on so many times…

Then, she only felt a strong smack.

Opening her eyes widely and breathing hard, like she had just waken up from a nightmare, she got off the car stumbling. Its right front part was completely mashed against a big tree, the headlight hanging from a cable, pieces of glass and metal spread on the floor. Rogue stayed staring at this mess for a few seconds, and thanked God for not having a single bruise. Next, she got on the car again, and tried to turn it on, but it didn't.

"Oh, Gawd! Ah'm so… fucked up!".

She knew it was moment to move on, and fast: if a cop arrived… she didn't even want to think about it, so she hung her backpack on her shoulders, and with her bag in one hand and _Sugah_'s container on the other one, she started to walk down the highway.

Note: why do I like to use songs in my fics? I don't know, I just feel like music can help to explain things very well sometimes. Is it dangerous to drive and have loud music on your earphones at the same time? I don't know, but I do it all the time, lol. So, please remember to drop me a review! They make my day so much.


	7. Chapter 7: Gotta keep walking

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 7: Gotta keep walking.

_Saturday, 10:15 pm. _

"_Voila!"_ exclaimed Remy, once he finally found the file he was looking for in the computer; when it appeared on the scream, he eagerly started to read it:

"_Name: unknown. _

_A.k.a: Rogue…". _

"Rogue, hein? Fits ya better dan _Sam_".

_"…Weight: 117 lb. _

_Height: 5'6''…"._

These were just numbers, but Remy's mind rapidly traduced them into that gorgeous body she had left with almost no clothes on, less than one day ago. He stayed a few moments with a grin on his face, committing his memory not to forget the way she looked, or the way she stared at him when approaching to the bed. He had been with a lot of beautiful girls; how come this Rogue had impressed him so much?

"Focus, _homme_" he ordered himself, trying to evade the _bad thoughts_ these images of her produced on him.

_"…Hometown: Caldecott, Mississippi…"._

"Can't hide de drawl, _chere_". He had known from the very beginning that she was from the south too, not only because of her particular accent, but also because of that certain something she had, whatever it was, and that had immediately attracted him to her, like a magnet.

_"…Mutant abilities: Absorption of memories, skills, and powers through skin to skin contact, leaving the victim weakened and sometimes unconscious. The longer the contact occurs, the longer Rogue will retain the abilities or memories…"._

Remy rested his back against the chair, frowning; this is what she had done to him. From the moment she first saw him, she had everything planned; she tempted him, then kissed him and left him there. And like this wasn't enough, she stole him, thing that never ever had happened to him. He had played girls sometimes, but a girl playing him? This was new, and produced on him a mixture of different emotions, like curiosity: why had she done it? He knew what was like to be broke and needing some money, and he had stolen with no compassion, hundreds of times; was she like that too? He would have never thought so, but then he thought that maybe it was still her looks deceiving him.

"Remy LeBeau deceived… dat's… funny".

He also felt upset, maybe with himself for acting like a naïve little boy, but damn, how was he supposed to know that she would sent him to sleep with only touching him?

"Dat's why she didn't want me t' touch her when in de club, an' den in de car. But if she only wanted Remy's money, why didn't she touch him right away, an' gave him dat nice strip dance 'fore?" he smiled again at this thought, but then, his expression went sombre as he assimilated it: she was untouchable: he could never caress that pale skin, he could never have her. And he also felt bad about her, imagining the lonely life she was probably having.

_"__…Former affiliations: Mystique._

_Actual location: unknown"._

There was no more information about her; only a picture where the two coloured hair girl appeared with Mystique and other mutants, causing some kind of riot on a street. Remy came closer to the screen, in order to see her better: yes, that was her.

"Where did ya go, Rogue?...".

A few moments later, he turned off the computer and left the room, walking down the carpeted corridors of the mansion, illuminated by fancy and expensive lamps. He crossed two or three of the younger kinds on his way to his room. Once he got there, he decided to get a little more comfortable, so he took off his shirt and sat on the window's frame; next, he lighted on a cigarette.

"Where did ya go?" he repeated, not able to get her out of his head. He felt the need of facing her, and telling her… he had no clue yet of what he would tell her, but he assumed that since she wouldn't be too happy to see him, that would be enough of a revenge. He wanted to know more about her, now that she probably knew a lot about him, more than he never liked to tell anyone.

"Remy's gonna find yah, _chere_" he murmured, letting go a small cloud of smoke out of his mouth.

It wasn't a cold night out there, and the dark sky was clear.

(…)

_Saturday, 10:45 pm. _

Rogue looked up at the sky: in spite of the city's lights, some stars could be seen, spread on the darkness. New York was way more noisy, crowded and crazy than she had imagined. It's different from when she saw it on the movies; now, she was there, surrounded by people even this late at night, and she didn't even know exactly where she was. Anyway, she kept walking and walking, the backpack starting to get a little too heavy. She had got to have some sleep on the way to the city, an old couple giving her a ride, but now she wasn't only sleepy and tired: she was starving, but she was so desperate to get a place to sleep, that she decided no to waste one single moment in anything else; anyway, she remembered a package of crackers, somewhere inside her bag.

"Gotta keep walking… come on" she told herself.

It didn't seem to be a very nice neighbourhood, the one she got to. There were small groups of guys here and there, smoking, drinking, talking, saying nasty things when she walked by their side. But she didn't really care. She just needed to keep walking… there came a moment when she was so fatigued that she forgot she was looking for a place to stay, focusing only in the act of walking; but then, she stopped on her tracks when a notice on the door of a building seemed to be talking to her: "_Rooms for rent_". She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, and since then, everything happened like in slow motion, like in a dream, or a movie you're watching when you're half slept: an old woman opened the door, then they both went up the stairs; they got to a room, Rogue paid her what she asked. When the woman left, she put all her stuff on the floor, found the crackers, and went to bed. But she fell asleep before eating them.

Note: why did I have to put Remy with no shirt on at the end? Just for fun ;-) And if you ask me how did he get home so fast, well, by plane I guess. So please!! Review my little fic, I'll be thankful forever.


	8. Chapter 8: I'll be right back

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men :-P

Chapter 8: I'll be right back.

_Sunday, 11:10 am. _

The bedroom's walls were completely covered with some ugly flowered wallpaper, peeled off in several parts; besides this, the rest of the room was ok, though kind of old: a twin bed under the window, an antique chair and a small table, a closet, a bathroom. Sitting on the bed with her knees up to her chest, Rogue looked around at her new home; she felt so strange every time she arrived to a new place, because she didn't really belong there: she was just borrowing a piece of normalcy for a while.

The window was right by her side, and through a gap in the drapes, she could see what was out there: not exactly the Central Park or an equally amazing view; there was this metal fire escape tiny balcony sort of thing, and another grey building only about ten feet away. A ray of sun came in and hit her on the face, and for some odd reason, this made her smile:

"We could actually stick around for a while, how 'bout that?" she jumped out of the bed and grabbed _Sugah_. "Yah like it here?"; it was always fun to hold the turtle in the air, as it moved its greened legs trying to walk. "Yeah, me too… kinda" she recognized, while putting it back on the floor.

It was great to finally take a shower. It felt like years since she had done it, but well, the previous day had been very long. Sensing the water running down her hair, her face, and all her body, she decided not to feel so bad this time. She didn't know if you can just decide that and do it, but she did it; she was sick of feeling in sorrow all the time. So, she would try to focus in the huge city she was about to know: she wanted to learn everything about it, walk down every street, and eat all the food she could find on her way, to begin with. And, why not?: The remembrance of that kiss would help her make her day; and the cologne, and the nose… Not reality; just memories. But good memories, at least.

(…)

_Four days later: Thursday, 10:00 pm._

Rogue could always feel eyes upon her every time she walked in a club or a bar; it was obvious what an all alone girl was looking for, in those places. Even though it could sound contradictory, sometimes she enjoyed this: to make men stare at her, want her, think that she was probably easy, and have no clue that they could never lay a finger on her skin without getting knocked out. It was like she was secretly punishing them, not knowing exactly for what reason.

She walked through the dance floor, carefully trying not to be too close from anyone; she had spotted an empty table on the other side. Some guy came and tried to dance with her, but she rejected him. It's true that during these days she had been trying to look at the bright side of things, but that didn't mean she had to dance; she hated dancing. So when she finally reached the table, she took a sip of her drink and wondered which one of these guys will generously pay for her room and groceries of the next week.

It didn't take too long:

"Hey beautiful, you mind if I sit?". Rogue looked up at the man that had just talked to her; well, not too up indeed, since he was kind of short, but it seemed like his t-shirt was about to explode of how tight it was, giving evidence of his muscular body.

"No, not at all" she smiled; his pants, belt and shoes seemed expensive. This was the one.

"And tell me, what's your name?" he asked, after sitting down.

"Laura" she lied; "yours?".

"Ben".

"Nice to meet yah, then". The guy stayed staring at her, with a stupid beam on his face, so she had to continue the conversation: "An', what do yah do?".

"Oh, I work in this marketing company, but I'm getting tired of it, because my boss…" and then, he started yapping about not only his boss, but also about his co-workers, the copy machine that got stuck that morning, and some other things Rogue was trying hard to focus on, but it seemed like this guy was talking to himself. There came a moment when she casually turned towards the crowded dance floor, and her heart almost stopped: on the other side, behind all the dancing people and in the middle of the darkness, she thought she saw… she wasn't sure anyway, but she could have sworn that two red pupils were staring at her. She quickly met Ben's eyes again, scared of looking again at the other side. Could it be… him?

As the guy continued talking, she calmed down a little; then, decided to see again: the red pupils were gone. It must have been her imagination.

"Yah know, Ben" she interrupted his chatter "Ah gotta go t' the bathroom for a sec, 'kay? Don't go, Ah'll be right back". The guy nodded contently, and she stood up.

The bathrooms were only a few steps away from her table; Rogue walked towards them, her heart returning to its normal pace. Maybe it had been her drink making her see things. She pushed the door open, and before coming in, she looked back for no particular reason: there they were again, those eyes, on this side of the dance floor; and she even saw the trench coat with them. She felt like her soul fell down to the floor, and the only thing she could do was storming inside the lady's bathroom. There was nobody else in there, and Rogue was thankful for this, though she couldn't think very clearly, her whole body trembling. What was this? Was he chasing her? Had it really been him? She had imagined his face, his features, many times during these days, but it wasn't like she wanted to meet him again! What would she tell him? She didn't want to talk to him, she juts wanted… a memory, she didn't want to face him.

Suddenly, the door started to squeak open. Instinctively, Rogue stepped inside one of the cubicles, closing the metal door behind her. It couldn't be him; it'd be absurd, but there was still this wave of fear running down her whole body. She stayed still, desperately forcing her breathe to go slow, as she heard the main door being closed, and then these steps echoing inside the bathroom. They were definitely no heels; they were paused, confident man steps. She couldn't take away her view from the bolt of the door, making sure over and over again that it was locked. And then, she felt it: she perceived the cologne, mixed with cigarette smell and something else. She had gone through risky situations when working with Mystique's people, but this was different; this time, she couldn't just punch and run. She was trapped.

When the steps stopped right in front of her door, she had no doubt about it: it was him. She could even see the top of his hair over the door, since he was really tall. If he wanted, he could stand on his tip toes and see her, hiding like a terrified little kid. She was almost waiting for him to do it, but then, he walked towards the door and left, leaving the bathroom in silence, except for Rogue's fast heart beating.

A couple of minutes later, she dared to come out; the only person in the bathroom was her, her face way paler than normal reflected in the mirror.

Note: please, please, please, please, please, drop me a review!


	9. Chapter 9: Don't look back

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 9: Don't look back.

_Friday, 7:15 pm. _

Rogue stuck inside her mouth the last piece of hamburger from her dinner. She had to wait a little while until a table was finally free, since it always seemed to be the peak hour in this gigantic mall. That was the thing about this city, she had realized: there were so much people and all of them so different from each other, that she even got to think that maybe she wasn't so strange after all. It was good to feel that at least once.

But her thoughts were far away from this, and way closer to the events of the previous night. When she finally came out of the bathroom, the guy she had been talking to was the least of her worries; so she rushed through the dance floor, imagining that at any moment Remy would appear in the middle of her way, not knowing what she would do when she'd meet his eyes again. But she didn't see him; not there, or out of the club, or when she took a cab to go _home_. It was like he just vanished.

Playing with the straw in her lips, she drank a little more soda, always staring at people passing by her side and hearing the loud murmur of countless voices around her. Then, she unconsciously rolled her eyes; of all the guys in the world, she had to cross her path with this one: a thieve and also a mutant who worked with this X-Men organization or whatever it was. No wonder how he found her, but anyway, what did he want? His car? His money? Or maybe he just wanted to mess up with her head, playing mind games with her; otherwise, why didn't he say a single word back at the club? He was content with scaring the hell out of her, cornering her, letting her know that he's right there watching her every move. Remembering the moments she spent behind the bathroom's door, feeling his presence only inches away, she could almost hear him telling her she wouldn't get away with it, and that this was just the beginning; of what? She knew she had hurt his pride by stealing and fooling him; but what did he really want out of this now?

Rogue carefully scanned the crowd with her pupils, fearing to suddenly meet his face. She also felt kind of stupid for being scared; what could he do to her? One little touch and he'd be out of the game. Or maybe she was also afraid of something else, like her knees wobbling when being in front of him.

"Come on, yah're getting' way too paranoid, gal" she told herself, standing up from the table. She wasn't going to let last night's little persecution affected her; more than it already had, of course.

Walking down one of the eight billion corridors of the mall, she stopped in front of a shoe's store, to take a peek among them; but none of them really liked her. Then, she took a look at her reflection in the glass: she was wearing jeans, a grey t-shirt with a black sweater, not missing her hands gloved in black. Her white bangs appeared from under the black baseball cap she was wearing this day. All covered, as usual…

And then, time seemed to stop during the fraction of a second.

She saw Remy, reflected in the glass too, staring at her with those demon eyes of his.

Rogue immediately looked away; she didn't have to look again to make sure it was him, because she was. This time, instead of starting to tremble like a leaf, she decided she had to put herself together, and fast. He wasn't too close from her, so she could have time enough to get out of there, and everything would be ok. Questions like _why again?, how did he find me here?_, or, once more, _what does he want_?, quickly ran through her mind, but she threw them away. Her survival instinct took over her, and it only said one thing: _hurry!_

She started to walk fast, trying not to come too close to anybody, stumbling every time a little child was in the middle of her way. Her heart started to go fast again, almost following the rhythm of her steps.

"Don't look back, don't look back…" she thought, grasping tight her bag. She didn't know where he was at this point, but it was so strange the way she felt watched. He couldn't be too far.

The emergency stairs were removed from her list right away, because if he was going to show up, it better be in a public place; she was clueless about where some elevator could be, so she had to take the mechanical stairs down one floor, then another one, and another two, all the time fixating her eyes in the mobile steps under her feet.

"Don't look up, don't look up…". Time never goes by the same way; a minute seems to multiply itself by three when you're in a hurry.

When she finally got to the street level of the mall, she walked towards the entrance. Maybe he just wanted her to see him, like the previous night; but how many times was he going to do this? Was he playing some kind of hide and seek game?

"An' Ah'm surely playin' it too" she recognized.

The night had already fallen outside, and not like the previous days, it was cold. Luckily, there was free place to sit on the bus stop, so Rogue went towards it and let herself fall on the bench, sighing at the same time. There were a few people around, but not the slightest sign of him. She suddenly felt upset, thinking how pleased with himself he was probably feeling, seeing her running away like that; it's true that this whole thing was her fault, but maybe next time she wouldn't run anymore. Yes, maybe she would face him, and tell him a couple of things and…

"Hey!". Before she could do anything about it, a kid about twelve years old came to her, took her bag from her lap and started running down the street.

"Hey! Wait!" she yelled while standing up and starting running after him, the cold wind hitting her on her face. She was running as fast as she could, but the kid was so rapid she lost him out of sight a couple of times; but then, she'd see him looking back at her and starting running again.

"Hey! Stop it!". She kept following him for about three blocks, until he turned left inside an alley. When Rogue got there, she saw the kid standing next to a big garbage container, holding her bag and staring at her.

"What do yah think yah're doin', yah little prick?" she yelled, coming closer to him. "Now, gimme back mah…" a gasp made her stop, both in her talking and her steps: Remy appeared from behind the container, a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Shocked, Rogue involuntarily gave a step back, but he moved faster than her, firmly clutching her left wrist with his right hand. She shook her arm trying to release herself, but she couldn't; then, Remy dropped a few coins in the kid's hand, who let the bag fall on the floor and left away, running. Skilfully, the Cajun quickly clutched Rogue's other wrist, and pushed her against a wall, leaving them face to face, his red pupils piercing her green ones.

"Seems like we're meetin' again, _chere_".

Note: Yay! This chap was fun to write. Next one is really important, isn't it?, so I'll have to figure it out really well (swallows hard). I wanna thanks everyone who has reviewed this fic, you guys are awesome, really, each review makes me smile and giggle:-)


	10. Chapter 10: Didn't you have enough?

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

First of all, I wanted to thank you guys again for your amazing reviews :-) I also wanted to say that I'll be updating a little less frequently now, with a little luck maybe two chapters a week. This is because I had spent the 4 coolest months ever on vacation (smiles melancholically). Yeah, I know it's quite a while, but let's just say my college went kinda crazy (blushes) as well as my country is (blushes sadly). But the thing is that I gotta get back to study and study like a damn slave (starts to cry inconsolably) and I've got a pretty hard semester ahead of me (freaks out and jumps down a precipice); so well, wish me luck! ;-)

Chapter 10: Didn't you have enough?

_Friday, 7:50 pm. _

Deep inside, Rogue knew this moment would come sooner or later. She knew it in the back of her mind when she left him lying on the bed, what seemed to be ages ago; she assumed it when it was him who left her, confused, back in the bathroom of the club; and she took it as a fact when his face appeared on the glass, like her thoughts were being reflected on it. When she ran away on the mall, she was just postponing the unavoidable; of course she didn't admit to herself none of this, until now.

It was hard to tell what his gaze really meant, since it was a mixture of stuffs, but there was this one thing she didn't see in them, and she felt puzzled by it: anger. He wasn't mad, perhaps because he knew how it felt to steal. It might sound just like a simple word, "stealing", a simple act; but it changes you, turning you into a person you never thought you could be. Remy used to think he had always been this person, since he started to steal almost at the same time he learnt how to walk. But what about her? Who was she? He wanted to find out.

_"Seems like we're meetin' again…"_. His words resounded inside her mind over and over again as she tried to decide what to say, feeling his breathe again so close to her, her wrists being clutched more tightly every second, the noise of the street seeming so far away now; it was only the both of them in the whole world, each of them facing someone they didn't know what to expect from.

"Small world, eh? What the hell do yah want?" she spat out, using the first words she could think of. The last thing she wanted to do was letting him see how tense she was, or even making him think he could influence her mood in any way; she would be the strong girl instead.

"Dat's it?" he snorted in mock surprise. "Y're not gonna say _hello_, or give Remy a hug, or at least…" he leaned closer to her: "…a little kiss?".

The proximity of his skin made her feel even more uncomfortable, but she wouldn't show it to him; she wouldn't look away:

"Didn't yah have enough of it?".

"Enough?" he grinned, adopting this full of himself attitude: "See: starin' at a luscious… let's say, apple, an' not getting' de chance to eat it, be nothin' near _enough_".

Rogue's stomach twitched at these words. Was he simply telling her that he had enjoyed seeing her taking off her clothes? (Thing she was already regretting by now); or was he mocking at her in some twisted way because of her power, he surely already knew about? Whatever the case was, she felt humiliated and angry, both at the same time.

"Yah… agrr!" she huffed, words fighting to get out but getting tangled up with her annoyance. Then, she desperately tried to free her wrists from him, pulling back her arms with all her strength, but since he wouldn't let her go, she quickly turned around and punched him in his stomach with her elbow. Right away, he freed her wrists, and when she thought she could now run away, he wrapped his arms around her waist:

"Not so fast, _cherie!_", making her stumble and fall down the ground, pushed down by him. She intended to fight back, but then she found her wrists captive again, clutched by his hands on both sides of her head.

"Get off me, damn Swamp Rat!" she yelled, her white bangs and auburn hair spread over her shoulders and forehead.

"Dis brings memories, _hein_?" he winked, pushing her down with the rest of his body. "Only last time 'twas y' on top".

She could have tried to fight, pushing him away and punching him in every way she could think of, but what would she get from that? So, she decided to keep her furious gaze on him, while he ran his eyes up and down her cheeks, nose, lips, neck…

"'kay, if yah finished your cheap sarcasm show, would yah just step away from me?".

"Hey but Remy should be de upset one, not y'. 'Twas y' who stole 'im, remember?". Yes, that one was true; it was her the one that created all this mess.

"Your… your car…" she uttered, her lips slightly trembling.

"Already found what's left of it, don't worry" and saying this, he stood up, pulling her up by her wrists like he was lifting a backpack from the floor. Once they both were standing, they stayed staring at each other's eyes for a few seconds, until he chuckled and liberated her arms.

"Ah'm not. Besides yah're a thieve too, so Ah guess yah deserved it".

"True" he murmured. "True dat now y' now a lot 'bout Remy, don't y'? Rogue?". Her eyes widened at the hearing of her name pronounced by him. "Remy's got his sourced too; not as drastic as yers, of course". She was getting tired of this cockiness of him; she wanted to get to the bottom on this, so she crossed her arms over her chest and asked:

"Just tell me what do yah want. What is it, eh? What kind of pathetic, crazy game is this?".

He rested his back against the wall, rubbing his chin before speaking; Rogue recognized he had the same look on his eyes he had a few days ago, when he asked her if they could go _talk_ somewhere else.

"Remy wants what's fair, _cherie_. Y' know a lot 'bout him now, but he barely knows y'" he paused, waiting to see the way his words were taken, analyzing every small spasm or blink on her face. "I wanna know y', _chere_. I want a date".

Of all the things she could have expected from him, this was the only one she wouldn't have thought of.

"A what?!" she shrieked in disbelieve.

"Y', me, a chat. Dat's all" he smirked, seeming so confident, like she wouldn't refuse for a thing.

"An' why on earth would Ah possibly want to talk to yah?, an' least of all, why would Ah want t' talk t' yah 'bout me? Yah insane? Ah'm not goin' anywhere with yah".

"We can discuss de first couple of things tomorrow, but dere be one reason why y' wouldn't miss our little _rendezvous_".

"Is dere? This is gonna be good; shoot".

He smirked, coming a step closer from her:

"'Cause y' stole my car_, chere_; dat makes y' a thieve. An' de cops don't like thieves". Her face fell, though she tried to dissimulate it. "Guess y' took off yer gloves for a while, 'twas a long trip after all; y' left yer fingerprints all over de place…"

"Yah wouldn't…" she uttered. "Yah… yah're a thieve too, police wouldn't believe yah or…".

"Remy's got certain immunity: a powerful family… but y' know dat, don't y'?". She tried to speak, but words weren't coming to her lips this time:

"Yah… yah wouldn't…" she repeated.

"Y' know Remy's done things dat be worst dan dat" he checked inside one of his pockets and handed her a piece of paper. "So don't try me" he turned his back on her, and started to walk away. "T'morrow, 8 pm" it was the last thing she heard him say, before turning towards her, winking, and turning left, disappearing from her view.


	11. Chapter 11: That ain't gonna happen

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 11: That ain't gonna happen.

_Friday, 11:20 pm. _

His handwriting was angular, with sharp points and long stems for letters _p_ and _t_. It was written with a black pen, and even though the white paper was unlined, the words weren't slanted either upwards or downwards, going straight in a column of three lines. Locked in her room, the weak yellowish light falling on her and her two couple of belongings, Rogue had spent over an hour scrutinizing each black inked stroke and dot, like they would suddenly help her figure things out, telling her something else besides the address she had already memorized. She couldn't help to think that it was weird: she knew a lot about him now, probably more than anyone had; she had his memories (in the back of her mind, yes, but they were yet there) but it was this single piece of paper he wrote for her, what had her thinking, wondering and guessing a hundred things.

The first thing she thought was that maybe this was some kind of trap; anyway, it wouldn't be the first time other mutants go after her. But in that case, why wanting to meet her the next day, instead of going straight to business in the alley? He had defeated her in their little fight, and he could have knocked her out in some way; but he didn't. Other possible choice was: was he trying to play her, just as she had played him? Maybe he wanted her to fall for him, just like he had done countless times with countless girls. But this time it would be a revenge, for stealing a thief; and not just any thief.

"Well, that ain't gonna happen, Sugah" she murmured, playing with the piece of paper in her bare hands, almost caressing it with her fingers. "Ah'm not fallin' for no cocky, cynical Swamp Rat".

She didn't know if she should buy her own words, but she really didn't want to think about it; every time the sightless nice or pleasant thought about him came to her mind, she scared it away just like she did with other people's memories. This was nothing but a game for him, so Rogue decided to take it the same way.

She would go. Why? What for? She had no accurate answer for those, but she couldn't stay home, letting him think she was scared again.

(…)

_Saturday, __8:10 pm. _

This was a part of the city she had never been to, kind of bohemian and artistic, but yet modern; from about a block away Rogue could see the tables, located in open air, of the restaurant. After a shiver ran down her back, she straightened her shoulders, trying to brush off any trace of tension she could still have. She gave a few steps forward, but then stopped abruptly and hid behind a tree; a couple of deep breathes later, she wondered why her life always had to consist in the most absurd things, like spying like a little kid to check if her… egrr, _date_ had already arrived to the restaurant. But there were no signs of him. That was, of course, until she heard his voice:

"Y're late, _chere_". Rogue turned around right away, to meet Remy's tall frame, arms crossed over his chest, back rested against another tree.

"Ah'm a busy gal" she managed to utter, quickly recovering herself from surprise. "Why do yah always appear from nowhere?".

"Why y' always be hidin'?" he shot back, stepping closer to her. She held his intense gaze, trying to decipher what his eyes meant this time, though it was never an easy thing to do. Finally, she spoke:

"Not always; Ah'm here, aren't Ah?".

"_Oui_" he grinned. "An' don't know 'bout y'rself, but Remy be starbin', so, we goin'?". Rogue shrugged, and then they both started walking. She noticed he wasn't wearing the trench coat this time, but a black jacket that actually looked great on him; up to her, she decided she didn't want to look like she spent three hours putting her outfit together, so she kept it nice but simple: black pants, the red turtle neck sweater and also a black jacket.

"Y' look beautiful, _cherie_" he hinted, and Rogue's stomach clenched; it was like he was hearing her thoughts, damn it. So, she frowned and tried to evade the memory of him, telling her the same thing, a few nights ago.

"Listen Cajun: this is how things are gonna work, 'kay?...".

"Ah! We've got fun rules t' follow now?"; they reached a table next to a fountain, and sat. It was a cold but not too windy night.

"Yah could say that, yeah" Rogue agreed, resting her chin over her left fist. "Ah get to ask yah three things, just t' make things a little clearer, an' then yah can ask three things back".

Remy's red orbits seemed to spark in interest, but then she thought she might have just imagined it.

"Dat could sound very unfair t' poor Remy, considerin' all the information y' already took from 'im". He paused for a moment, only to watch her blush slightly. "But three questions can tell more dan y' might think, if dey be de right questions, so… I'm in".

Right in that moment, the waiter arrived with the menus, breaking the gaze battle between the two southerners. After Rogue ordered her food, Remy just asked for the same thing she did, and the waiter left, leaving them again alone and free to talk.

"_Bien:_ Remy be all ears".

She unconsciously bit her lower lip before her first question:

"Were yah actually gonna sent the cops after me if Ah didn't come?". He had to chuckle at this, because he had even forgotten about that part.

"Dere still be a couple few things y' gotta learn 'bout de whole robbery world, _chere",_ she narrowed her eyes, but he continued: "One of dem: a thief never gives away another thief".

"That means Ah could be happily at home right now, instead of sittin' here with yah?" she scoffed, brushing back her white bangs.

"Y' wanted t' come anyway, don't y? So, next question" he smirked. After a few seconds of glares, she continued:

"Ah lied to yah. Ah stole both your stuff an' your memories; an' even your powers for a little while" she lowed her gaze. "Why do yah wanna know 'bout me? Yah should… despise me". The Cajun straightened in his chair and then leaned a little closer from her, like he was going to share a secret with her:

"Y' gotta be de most _undespicable_ _fille_ I've ever met. Besides… y' intrigue me, which be hard t' say, 'cuz dere don't be a lot of intriguin', interestin' people out dere; but y' be. Y're different. An' y' steal stuff too, so… I guess dose motives be enough". They stayed staring into each other's eyes for a while: one of them trying to be credible, the other one trying to figure out if she could believe.

"An' the third one" Rogue suggested, looking down at the table, not wishing to go deeper into the previous question: "This is not a date; it's just two people eatin' on the same table, all right?".

"Dat don't be a question, chere".

"The _all right?_ part is" she pointed out.

"_Bien_, my turn now"; she was about to protest, but he didn't let her, speaking right away: "How did y' get t' live like dis?".

She gasped at the magnitude of this question, because she didn't expect him to ask her something like that. It was something private, and she never thought she'd have to answer that to anybody. Anyway, she decided to follow the rules and be honest; what could she loose?

"'Bout a year ago Ah was workin' with these people… Mystique's people, Ah guess yah've heard 'bout them… course yah have. But then Ah left. Can't get a job. An' a girl's gotta make her livin', right?" she smiled ironically, then lowed her view again. "So… here Ah am".

"Why did y' leave?" he insisted, and she thought that, during the short time she had been knowing him, she'd never seen him serious, like he truly meant something.

"That's the second question, 'kay?" she reminded him, and he raised both hands in surrender. "Ah left… 'cause… they were just usin' us. They wanted us t' do things that just aren't right, an' it's not like what Ah do is right, but…" she had to look away again, amazed at the fact that she was sharing this with someone. "Third one?".

"Already?".

Remy raised his brows, trying to assimilate all this information and making it fit with the things he already knew about her. He had only a question left; a last chance to get to know Rogue… and he also wanted to know her feelings. That's when an idea appeared on his mind. He doubted about it at the beginning, but then he though that after all they had gone through together, he had somehow the right to know; and it wasn't like they went through a huge journey, but meeting her wasn't a small thing for him. He wanted, he needed to know about her in every aspect.

"Come on, Ah don't have all night, Swamp Rat" she rushed him, and he didn't want to think about it anymore; it was now or never, so he dropped his question, as straight forward as possible:

"Why did y' take off yer clothes de other night?".

The first couple of seconds, Rogue continued staring at him like she wouldn't have heard him, but then she blinked, her face turning into an expression of perplexity, embarrassment… guilt, somehow. She fixated her gaze on the table for a few moments, feeling humiliated and stupid, and when she met his eyes again, Remy internally cursed himself for his mistake.

"_Chere_… I don't mean t'…". But she didn't want to hear anything else. Dedicating him a last piercing gaze, she stood up and left, leaving Remy to deal with the waiter, the two plates the man was already bringing, and the security guard.

Note: this chappie went a little longer than usual! But I couldn't reduce it. Please, drop me your reviews:-)


	12. Chapter 12: What life's about

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

Chapter 12: What life's about.

_Saturday, 8:35 pm._

When the cab started moving she took a glimpse outside, through the window: Remy was just standing there, a few feet away, two waiters by his side talking to him loud. But he didn't seem to care about them, ignoring them completely and urgently searching Rogue's eyes with his gaze. But she didn't want to; she didn't want to see him ever again, not only because of what he had just said, but also because of what she had done before, and just because of everything. So, as the car went by and Remy's face got lost among dozens of unknown faces, and cars, and lights, Rogue turned to the front and closed her eyes, explaining her address to the driver in a broken voice.

"Rough night, miss?" the man hinted a few moments later, changing the radio station at the same time. "Don't worry, there are plenty of fishes in the ocean" he chuckled, and she clenched her fists; no, there would never be any fishes for her.

The regular motion of the car, along with the music that was being played, unknown to her, helped her clear her mind a little and made her feel safe somehow, like now he wasn't near her, it was all over and done; like it never happened.

But it did happen, though.

Rogue finally opened her eyes; she had succeeded in her attempts of not crying, and now her breathe was back to its normal pace. Then, she rested her right temple against the glass window, her gaze lost in the tall buildings passing by, and in the dark sky above. She would have liked to escape from her own thoughts, but it was just impossible. Had she done right in leaving like that? Hadn't that been a little immature? If she had been brave enough to do what she did and leave her skin all exposed in front of his avid eyes that night, why not being brave enough to answer a simple question, like a grown person? It was the deal, after all: three questions. But what could have been the answer to it? Maybe that's what made her run away again: she didn't know if she was ready to discuss the reasons that made her lost her mind once in her life, with a man she had barely seen three or four times. Of course, this was the logical, rational explanation she elaborated for herself to accept; deep inside, she was aware that she knew him very well, and strangely, she could feel like he knew her too.

That little question was so _him_; she should have guessed he would ask something like that. But she wouldn't have guessed that he would do it, not with a raised eyebrow and a wicked smirk on his face, but with a serious expression, like he was interested in the real motives she had. She saw no scorn on his face, no second intentions. What would she have answered?...

And then, there was her power. It was just unavoidable for her to even consider answering the question just like that, given her _condition_. It would be awkward, humiliating… strange. It was way too hard to explain to herself why she had done it, how could she have explained it to him? So she hid in her bad attitude and self-protective instincts, and left; it was an easy way out. At least easier than staring into his eyes and starting to speak. Maybe she owed him an explanation, after all.

Or maybe not; maybe she should just forget about the whole thing.

The taxi finally pulled over; Rogue paid the ride and got off the car, the night cold getting underneath her clothes and her soul. She hurried her way inside the building and then up the stairs, feeling tired, her steps echoing against the stained walls.

"Remy… why yah? Why not some other random guy in that bar?" she sighed, entering to her bedroom and dropping her purse on the floor and her jacket on a chair. Next, she looked around her silent and empty bedroom: "Is this what life's about? This crap?". When she fixated her eyes on the turtle, that was sleeping in a corner, she couldn't help to smile sadly: "We suck, man". It was still early, but she didn't want to keep thinking and thinking about Remy; tomorrow it'd be another day, yes. So she changed her clothes and then went straight to bed, covering herself up to her forehead with the blanket, like it would protect her from the memories of him.

(…)

_Saturday, 11:50 p__m. _

A strong noise suddenly took Rogue away from her sleep, bringing her back to reality. Rubbing her eyes, she sat down and tried to hear again, but the noise was gone. She wasn't sure of what it had been; she just knew she heard something. Another fight of that _lovely _couple, in the room besides hers? She tried to penetrate the deep silence of the night, but she couldn't hear their voices; only the engines of cars far away, some crickets… sounds that were practically part of the silent at that hour. But then, she gasped. There it was again:

_K__nock, knock, knock_.

Three hard knocks on the door. Her heart almost stopped at the thought of Remy; could it be him?

She waited for the knock to go again, but since it didn't, she decided to stand up and walk slowly and barefoot towards the door, her shoulders almost shaking in cold and nervousness. Afterwards, she carefully placed one of her ears against the old wooden door; she heard nothing. But a few seconds later, there they were again, right against her ear:

_K__nock, knock, knock_.

And then, she heard something else; something that made her blood freeze:

"Open up".

It wasn't Remy's voice.

She straightened her back, trying to stay calmed and to think quickly. Being in the black list of _bad mutants_ was something that always made her feel like she was hiding, running away all the time; like someone would come after her sooner or later.

_Knock, knock, knock_, it went again, this time stronger, and she realized she had no time to loose.

Walking in tiptoes, she went straight to the window and opened it as silently as she could, except for that screech at the end. Then she threw her body out of it, landing on the little metal balcony; that's when she realized it was a serious thing: from the other side of the window and through the darkness of her bedroom, she could see the door being thrown down, and then a male figure stepping inside her room. But she didn't stay to watch too long, rushing down the fire escape, her feet sometimes stepping on the metal, other times on the fabric of her sweat pants.

"Don't make this harder, kid" she heard the same voice again, from over her head, but she kept moving until she finally reached the ground, her hair all messed up and falling over her face. She didn't even want to look up, so she quickly turned towards the street at the end of the alley and started running. But only _started,_ because after a couple of steps she stopped in her tracks. There was a woman in front of her, but she couldn't quite see her face because of the darkness; Rogue only saw some kind of red shadow around her head, and the woman raising a hand.

That was the last thing Rogue saw before fainting.

Note: Ok there you have a little twist of events! Please don't leave without dropping me a review! I'll be thankful forever if you do!


	13. Author's note and apology

13: anti-mutant grous

Author's note:

I had started writing this up in my head a few times, but, well, I guess it's time already.

The thing is that I didn't like where this fic was going; it started so well, but then the last two chaps became kind of a mess for me. And I really had to be honest to myself: can I keep writing something I'm not happy with, pretending nothing's happening? No, I can't do it anymore! It was probably easier to continue and to get away with it, but I have to keep it real to myself; because writing's important for me, you know?

So, to make a long story short: there's no Sinister anymore. Uf, that makes me feel better. I don't know what was I thinking when I put him in; maybe I was under chocolate influence. Now we have this anti-mutant people after Rogue. This changes one or two little things on chap 13. Chapter 14 is still the same. And chapter 15 did have important changes, so if you wanna catch on, I recommend you to read it. Chapters 16 and 17, as I had written them, are gone forever and ever! I'm really sorry I made you guys read them, to erase them later; that makes me feel really bad and silly, but well, as I said, I'm trying to be honest and to write a better story. We'll have new chaps 16 and 17 coming soon, and I promise I'll try not to mess up this time. Each one of my fics means a lot, so I can't just let one of them die, instead of fixing it.

Thanks so much for your patient and for staying tuned with this fic. And sorry again! I've hit my head with a brick repeatedly for this. All right, maybe not, but I did feel really bad :-( I hope things turn out well from now on.


	14. Chapter 13: I was just wondering

Disclaimer: Don't own the X-Men! Don't sue!

Chapter 13: I was just wondering.

_Sunday, 1:05 am._

It was cold.

Her eye lids felt very heavy, and her whole body seemed to be a dead weight on her.

Rogue tried to move, but it wasn't possible. It was hard even to try to think clearly, because everything was nebulous and vague inside her mind.

She stayed like that for another few minutes, surrendered to the warmth of this strange sleep.

But then she joined all her willpower and tried to move again, and it was like the doze just evaporated away. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before focusing her view: she was lying on a bed, in this room where everything was either white or silver metal. Jumping out of the bed immediately, she tried to find a window to look outside, but there wasn't any; only a metal door in the middle of a wall. And silence.

All the memories of that time when something similar to this had happened to her flowed to her mind; she really felt like it was a _déjà vu,_ because even the emotions where the same: fear, anger, and just the wish to run away as soon as possible. There was only one way out, so she placed herself in front of the door, so polished that she could see her own image, a little bit distorted, reflected on it. She stared into her face to make sure it was actually herself, and this was really happening; the door was probably closed anyway…

But it wasn't. She twisted the knob and, trapped between the desire to escape and the dread of what she could find on the other side, she pushed it open slowly.

Two faces turned towards her at the same time, while Rogue's stomach dropped: she knew this people. Well, not technically, but she did know who they were, and this wave of memories arrived to her mind. Borrowed memories. Remy's memories.

There was a red haired woman sitting on a couch, holding a book on her lap, and by her side, a man with fancy eye-glasses.

"_Jean, Scott…"_ she thought involuntarily, since the two names just formed themselves in her mind.

"Indeed" Jean said, staring at her gravely. "That's us".

This didn't surprise Rogue, since she knew they were mutants, and what their powers were about. So she opened her mouth to speak, not really knowing what to say; she just stared at them awkwardly for another few seconds, thousands of things going through her head: did Remy send them after her? Did they know she knew about them? What did they want, for God's sake?

"What the hell's this place?" she burst out, and this time, it was Scott who spoke:

"This is the Xavier's Institute for Higher learning, also known as the X-Men mansion". Rogue swallowed hard; this was Remy's home.

"Why don't you come with us?" Jean asked, standing up. "Professor Xavier would like to talk to you". When hearing her voice, Rogue looked back at the woman's face: she was almost smiling, though seemed sleepy, and Scott had one of his arms over her shoulders.

"Why did yah bring me here?"; there was a part of her telling her these people wouldn't hurt her, but she didn't want to give it away that easily; through the years, she had learnt not to trust, so staying stuck to that would be the best thing to do. And the second best thing to do would be to skip over the little fact that she knew Remy, and everything else related to that matter.

"He'll explain it to you" Jean continued, and as they started to walk out the room, Rogue had no other choice but to follow them.

They went down a hallway with grey walls, security cameras on the ceiling every other few feet. It was again cold, and their steps produced this metallic sound against the floor. Then, they reached an elevator, and once they were in, they started to go up. Rogue kept her eyes low all the time, arms crossed over her chest, white bangs falling over one of her cheeks; she didn't want to look at Jean or Scott, or to talk to anybody: she just wanted to leave, back to her dull little life where there were no Cajuns or X-Men.

Finally, the elevator stopped, and she found herself in another hallway, but this one was completely different from the first one: the walls were beige, and there were crystal lamps in some parts, as well as expensive little tables from time to time, and the floor was completely covered by a carpet with arabesques. It was certainly a mansion, and nothing less. Then, Scott suddenly stopped in front of a big wooden door and opened it, letting Jean pass and waiting for Rogue to do the same thing. She took a fast glimpse at him, but then lowed her eyes right away, and sighing, came in.

It was some kind of living room, and there were two people in it:

"_Logan, Professor Xavier…";_ the two names popped up inside her head again without her wanting it. She quickly connected the first one to that voice calling her "_kid"_, only a couple of hours ago; he was standing, his back rested against a wall and he didn't even blink once when staring at Rogue walking uncomfortably towards the centre of the room. But then, it was the other man who spoke:

"I am very sorry that we had to use this method to bring you here, Rogue; but trust me, it was imperative". She didn't answer anything else besides a raised brow and a shrug. The Professor continued: "Please sit down; I assume you are eager to know why we brought you here".

"Nah, Ah was just wondering who your interior designer's" she spat out sardonically, causing Logan to raise his voice:

"Watch your mouth, kid".

"Make me" she shot back, and Logan's expression to this was more of surprise than annoyance.

"Logan, please; I believe she has the right to be angry" the professor pointed out, receiving only a growl from the Canadian as an answer. "Please, sit down" he repeated politely, and Rogue did as he asked, never meeting the man's eyes.

For a few moments, the unique sound that could be heard was the tic-tac of an antique clock.

But then, the man continued: "I will go straight to the point. This afternoon, and by means that are not necessary to discuss, we found out an anti-mutant group, probably financed by the government, is after someone. And that someone is you, Rogue".

Silence came back to the room as Professor Xavier measured the impact of his words in Rogue's face. Her lips trembled and her brows furrowed, but he didn't let her speak, wheeling himself closer to her and continuing: "Their initial motivation was the usual one: to… _eliminate_ mutants that have been involved in radical activities. I am sure you are aware of _the list_, right?" She nodded. "But then they also found out you have information they want, about us: the X-Men. So, as you understand, we could not allow them to gain access to it". Rogue finally uncrossed her arms and met the Professor's eyes, worry drew across her face. Information? How could she have information about them? Unless...

"And we looked at each other's faces and wondered: how did this happen?" Logan mentioned, making a sarcastic emphasis on each word. Then, he sniffed twice before going on: "The answer to that's about to cross that door".

All eyes were directed to the place he pointed out; Rogue's worst worries were confirmed when, three seconds later, the door was open, Remy stepping inside the room:

"Everybody waitin' for Remy! It's gotta be important, den"; right then, his eyes met Rogue's. "_Chere_?!".

Note: yay! The final part was so fun to write. And hey, that was a pretty fast update, eh? Faster than I thought it'd be. Please… you know what I'm about to ask, don't you? Ok, I'll do it anyway: drop me a review! Reviews make me update fast (smiles innocently). And free time from college, of course.


	15. Chapter 14: I'm not joining anybody

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 14: I'm not joining anybody.

_Sunday, 1:50__ am. _

Remy expected her to be there: the claw marked, wrecked door in Rogue's bedroom had easily given way his team mates. And since he cared very little about what they could think of his previous relationship with her, he just couldn't stop seeing how funny things could get sometimes: only a while ago she had ran away from him (again), and now she was right in front of him, in his own home, probably unwillingly though, piercing him with those two green orbits of her. Yes, it was certainly funny: what he thought it'd be nothing but another one night stand, far from that, became this deep, unexplainable interest he was having for her. Things don't always work as we thought they would, luckily.

Of course he had planned to meet her again, but not in his own living room. The place was now soundless, with an awkward atmosphere and everybody staring at him like he did something wrong; specially Logan, but that wasn't a new thing anyway. How much did they know about his little encounters with Rogue? Was it even possible they knew about their little… absorption incident?

"Came to visit Remy?" he winked at her, sitting down in the same brown couch she was, and with the corner of his eye, he saw her hiding her bare hands inside the sleeves of her sweat shirt. "Sorry y' had t' wait".

Rogue sighed in annoyance, and rolled her eyes; why did he always have to act like nothing was happening, even in the most bizarre of situations? Well, actually, not always: not when she escaped from their dinner… but that wasn't the point now. The point was that she was embarrassed with these people, mad at them for kidnapping her, mad at that bloody list for being such a pain in the butt, and specially, mad at Remy for… maybe for smirking at her like that.

"An' Ah'm sorry Ah have t' see your face again" she said calmly, crossing her arms over her chest again.

"_Bien_, y' gonna have t' get used t' it if y're gonna be joinin' us, _chere_".

"Ah'm not joinin' anybody".

"Remy said dat at de beginning too, an' look at him now".

"Enough yapping, Gumbo" Logan burst out, and then, narrowing his eyes at the Cajun, continued: "Our thieves' quota's already filled with you here".

"Logan!" Jean exclaimed in surprise.

They were strangers to Rogue. If it wasn't for Remy's memories she wouldn't have recognized them in a street; she had first talked to them a few minutes ago. But it was also true that she had never faced someone that knew what she did, besides Remy, of course, but he was a thief too. And it wasn't even because she decided to tell them; they just knew it, as they seemed to know everything. It didn't feel good at all to be in the spotlight like that, feeling blamed and humiliated again.

Then, Remy stood up abruptly, rage drew in his demon's eyes.

"Whenever y' want, _mon ami_".

"How 'bout now, bub?" the Canadian shot back, along with the metallic sound his claws produced when coming out.

As the two men walked furiously towards each other, Scott stepped in between them, Jean tried to calm them down, and the Professor rubbed tiredly his forehead, the only thing Rogue did was staring into empty space like the world around her had disappeared. She was scrutinizing every inch inside her mind, going through memories like they were pages of a book, trying to figure out who these people really were. But it was hard to focus, not because of the noise outside, but the one inside: doubts and fears, mostly. Therefore, she didn't pay attention either to the end of the potential fight that never took place, or to Logan growling something about Remy not being worthy of trust, before throwing the door closed behind his back.

Everyone sat down again, as the wooden and antique clock announced two o'clock in the morning.

"Now that our friends' discussion has been solved" the professor announced, glancing at Remy "I have an offer for you, Rogue". She fixated her eyes on the telepath, almost knowing what he was about to say. "I am afraid Logan is wrong. We do have place in this institute for any mutant, regardless of his or her past. The only two requisites needed are commitment with peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, and the wish of learning how to use the powers nature gave us". The man wheeled himself closer to Rogue. "I offer you to join the X-Men".

She ran her hands through her hair, and then placed her elbows on her knees, holding her chin with both of her hands.

"An' why would Ah do that?" she sighed, still staring suspiciously at the Professor.

"Because we want to protect both you and the information you have about us, deep inside your mind, from… dangerous people" he explained. "So, if you want to see it in a practical way: we all would get benefits from it. You can answer tomorrow, if you wish. It's late, so Jean, why don't you show her a bedroom?". The red haired woman came closer to Rogue; for a few seconds, she considered her choices: not too many at the moment. So she finally shrugged, and followed Jean towards the door, never letting her eyes betray her looking at Remy.

But she felt his gaze on her, like he was touching her with it, until she left the room.

(…)

_Sunday, 2:40__ am._

She thought she should certify it somewhere: constantly changing bedrooms was her official hobby. This one was way prettier and bigger than _hers_, even under the shadows her eyes were starting to get used to. She didn't want to turn on the light, because he could walk down the hallway and see it; and he could knock the door, or knowing him, he'd probably just come in. Knowing him… did she really know him?

But a cold, empty silence was everything she could hear.

He had defended her, from that nasty Wolverine guy. Of course she didn't need anybody to do that for her; she didn't need anybody to do anything for her, and less of all, people trying to take control of her life. This is not how she had planned things, and not what she wanted to do: living with strangers again, working with them for reasons she would never really know if were the right ones. Maybe she had messed up a little, but it was also Remy's fault, and he was acting like a happy camper as she was being cornered.

"Sorry Prof, but maybe Logan" she rolled her eyes, "is right after all".

Rogue went towards the window and opened it carefully: only two floors; it wouldn't be hard. So, leading her body out, she was already on the grass a minute later.

Note: hi everyone! Sorry it took me quite a while to update this time; I promise I'll try really hard to churn out a new chappie before Friday. You guys think we can reach a hundred reviews with this one? That'd be awesome!! So please, feel free to drop me a few words, whether you're liking how things are going in the fic, or not. I hope you're liking it, though, but anyhoo…! :-)


	16. Chapter 15: Leave me alone

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 15: Leave me alone.

_Sunday, 2:50 am. _

It was an ace of spades, the one being manoeuvred in-between Remy's fingers. The shadows surrounded him and the tree he was next to, leaving him in a complete obscurity his thief's eyes were very used to. There was only a light on, in the front of the mansion, but all the windows were in darkness too; everybody seemed to be sleeping.

But yet, maybe not everybody. He _knew_ not everybody.

It was starting to get colder out there, when a few minutes later he had to grin in satisfaction.

"Of course, _cherie_" he murmured almost inaudibly. "Y' wouldn't be y'self if y' wouldn't run away, right?".

(…)

_Sunday, 4:00 am. _

Everything had begun just by chance, without her planning it, exactly ten months and seventeen days ago: she was wandering around in the streets of some town, now lost among the memories of all the cities she had lived in, all of them similar and equally meaningless to her. It was raining and almost midnight when she found shelter in the garage of a house. But it didn't take too long before someone turned the lights on, to find her sitting on the floor in a corner, soaked, trembling and, worst of all, broken inside like she had never been before (and that was a lot to say). The tall man frowned and told her she was trespassing; she asked him not to call the police and let her stay there until it stopped raining. He just stayed staring at her, and the way her wet clothes were affixed with her body, until he finally answered: _Fine, but you're gonna have to give me something in return_. It's not hard to imagine what happened next, when he tried to touch her and when he achieved it. That's when she understood she was invulnerable, in a way that no matter the situation was, nobody could abuse her or hurt her like that. She could go anywhere, and be ok. Her skin was both her curse and her shield.

That rainy night she found a place to take some sleep, food, and money for the next few days.

Strangely, now she felt she was back at that time when she had nothing. Everything reminded her of it: cold, unknown streets, people in a corner or a car, gazing at her oddly; not even a penny in her pockets, that piercing sensation of having to hide, and the certitude of being all on her own. There was something different this time, though. Once, she had found the way to make her life more tolerable; she just had to keep on it this time. At least she knew where she wanted to go to: the way she had been living until one day ago. Or instead, until before knowing Remy...

She wasn't sure if she had run away from him, or from the X-Men. It's true she didn't want to team work anymore, at least for a while, and especially not with people like that clawed jerk. But she also left because she didn't want to spend more time with Remy; she just couldn't. She couldn't allow herself to like or to love someone, because she didn't want to go through some stupid, pointless drama. It's easier and less painful to deal with loneliness when there's no one specific whose company you wish, than to spend 24 hours a day thinking about someone. She knew she would get hurt anyway, because he liked to play games, and that's what he'd been doing with her: amusing himself with a girl he could never touch. Nope, she didn't want to go through none of that.

Maybe she wasn't so invulnerable after all.

(…)

_Sunday, 4:35 am. _

It was a good thing that most of people were probably drunk by this hour, and wouldn't pay too much attention to her not very fancy clothes.

They were about to close the bar soon, so she needed to find someone fast. She didn't have too much money at _home_, so she needed a good amount of it to go there, grab her stuff and leave. She didn't want to make friends with mutant haters either, so the only thing she could do was to take a plane somewhere. Exactly where, wasn't important now; it would be figured out once she reached the airport. She was in a hurry now, hiding again, like there was never a right place for her.

"Is this seat taken, Sugah?".

The guy raised his head from his drink and smiled widely when seeing the gorgeous two colour haired girl talking to him. He straightened his back, and five minutes later, they were already talking like they knew each other from childhood.

"Thanks, but yah know, Ah forgot mah purse somewhere" she said, when the drink he asked for her arrived to the table. "Ah don't really have any money here…" she pouted trying to look silly but yet naughty; it always worked with this type of men.

"Don't worry, baby; it's on me" he sentenced, winking; Rogue had to stop herself from laughing at him: nobody could wink like Remy did.

"How can Ah pay yah back, then?"

"What do you have on mind?"; it was funny the way he seemed to be hypnotized by the way she played with her lips and the glass.

"Ah don't know, Ah'm in the mood for some fun t'night" she purred. It was necessary to get this done soon.

"My car's outside…" the man suggested; he seemed to be about to jump on her at any moment. She just smiled, so he stood up: "Let's go then."

"Y' don't go anywhere with her" somebody pushed the man, so he ended up sitting again. Rogue gasped in surprise, telling herself she should have expected this to happen.

"What the heck do yah think yah're doin'?!" she yelled at Remy, who tried to grab one of her wrists; she didn't let him.

"We're leavin'".

"Ah'm not goin' anywhere! Leave me alone!"

"Yeah man, leave us alone" the other man spoke, standing up, causing Remy to look at him with scorn, like it was a roach the one that just talked to him.

"We really need t' go now, Rogue" the Cajun insisted.

"What, is she your little sister?" the guy mocked, holding his drink in one hand. "Wait, your girlfriend? Dude, she's a little slut, I…"

He couldn't finish the sentence, since right away Remy punched him in the jaw and sent him stumbling backwards, then falling on the floor. Several people turned to stare at the scene, but the rest of them were maybe too drunk to realize of it. Rogue just stayed open mouthed, staring at Remy in astonishment.

He grabbed her by her shoulders, his eyes full of anxiety:

"Listen to me, _chere_: de people searchin' for y', dey be outside, right at de door, waitin' for y' to go out to catch y'. Now, y' gonna stay here with dis _imbecile_" he pointed out with his head at the guy that was still lying on the floor, "an' let dem get y', or y're runnin' away again, but dis time with Remy?"

Her lips trembled, while her mind was trying to assimilate the whole thing; trying to figure out if she should trust him. It had been her the one betraying him the first time, and yet he was there, trying to help her.

And she was about to speak… she was about to say "_yes, Ah'm comin' with yah"_, when all it came out of her mouth was a "Watch out!"

She hadn't finished speaking when Remy was already bending over, avoiding to get hit on his head.

You don't learn how to fight in the Danger Room, with holograms and computer programs; you _really_ learn it in the streets, facing assassins and all kinds of vicious people, and Remy had had a lot of it. So he quickly turned around and punched one of the guys, while the other one threw himself on the Cajun; but he took the bo staff out of his coat, and in less than ten seconds, the two men were immobilized.

This time, everybody was staring at him, moving away to give them space.

"Rogue!" he yelled again, to receive no answer.

He looked around desperately, but there was no sign on her.

So, after kicking one of the men in the stomach, he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him against a wall, his red orbits glittering in rage:

"What did y' do with her?!"

Note: when I wrote my first little fic (wow it feels like ages ago… but no, it was like in October, lol) I could have never guessed I'd get a hundred reviews for a fic. Yay! I'm so happy right now, and I wanna thank everybody who has taken the time to gimme a review :-)

I wanna say special thanks to Gambitfan85 for helping me with the English in a couple of things: Thanks!

And yes, the "watch out!" part is like in the first X-Men movie, when she meets Logan in the bar. But I thought it'd fit here too.


	17. Chapter 16: Not anymore

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 16: Not anymore.

_Sunday, __5:10 am. _

It wasn't the first time she went through this.

Three, maybe four months ago (she didn't recall very well, and didn't want to) she spent six days locked in a cage, with people insulting her and questioning things she had no clue of, like the mere fact of being a mutant meant she had to know each and every single intention and movement of all her _kind_.

That had been enough for her; she wouldn't let it happen again.

But _they_ didn't proceed this way, she knew it: storming into a public place, starting a fight, creating the possibility of appearing in the news as _bad boys_, or hate criminals. No, they needed to keep a clean facade to cover their real activities. So, right when those guys attacked Remy, she knew they weren't the ones looking for her, but she also knew she had to bounce out of there as fast as possible.

She was sick and tired of running away, it's true, but staying there and doing what other people wanted her to do was way worst; she had had too much of that as well. There was the back door, only a few feet away, and next, the dark alley. And another one. And then a lot more of them, all of them similar and cold. She had learnt how to escape from danger easily, to vanish, back with the people she had worked with, and she was proud to know a couple of tricks herself, that Remy probably didn't imagine she knew.

Remy…

She couldn't allow herself to think of him right now; she needed to figure out where to go, what to do, how to stop feeling so upset with the whole world and so desperate to get away.

The sunrise didn't seem to be arriving any soon when she noticed it: someone was following her. At the beginning it was just the strange sensation of feeling observed, but then, the corner of her eye confirmed it to her; it was a car, going slow to keep track of her steps.

She shivered at the thought of what had happened last time they got her.

"But not anymore, _sugahs_".

So she fought away her fears and abruptly stepped inside this small 24 hours restaurant. It smelled like bacon and toasted bread, and the very few customers were trying to recover from a hangover, nervously drinking coffee, trying not to fall asleep. Rogue took a seat and glimpsed out of the window: the black car pulled over on the other side of the street, and she instinctively turned away, thought she knew it was useless.

Wandering around from town to town and picking up guys in bars to steal them, seemed like a walk in the park, compared to her currents situation.

"Put it t'gether, gal" she told herself, rubbing her hands to warm them a little. "Either they leave, or stay there forever, or… come in. An' if they do… " resting her chin on her fists, she focused on her training, back with the people she had worked with; all the time she spent in the gym, kicking punching bags and trying release anger. "If they come in, Ah smack the hell outta them".

She saw something else too: a man behind the counter, probably the manager, saying something to a waitress' ear, and then, the woman staring at her suspiciously.

"Gawd, not again…" Rogue muttered.

"What can I serve you?" the waitress smiled insincerely.

"Black coffee, please".

"Sure, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to pay first".

Rogue rolled her eyes: "Really? So, what do Ah've got t' wear next time Ah come here? A designer dress?"

"No" the woman raised her brows. "But you don't even have a purse, so I assume you're either a runaway or a homeless person". Damn she was right about the first one, but it wasn't very polite to point it out. "Those people finish their food and don't pay. And we don't like people that don't pay".

Rogue stood up, hands on her hips, with this strange, silly feeling of having to defend herself from something she would have actually done, and not for the first time. "All right, let me put it this way, hun: number one, what Ah am or not, is none of your bloody business, so yah bettah go take care of your pathetic wasted lafhe instead of messin' with mine" the other woman cringed a little. "Number two: yah should really learn how to treat well people that pay your salary. An' three: Ah'm out of this grimy pigsty already".

But things weren't any better outside: there was the car, and it started to go again, slowly and almost on tip toes, by Rogue's side.

She wouldn't turn to see it, but wouldn't low her gaze either; she just kept walking along, trying to look confident in spite of the fast beating of her heart. Then, she rolled over the sleeves of her sweatshirt, leaving half of her arms exposed; if they wanted to fight, she'd first introduce them to her best weapon: her own skin.

"You think that scares us, you little skunk? We know very well what you can do".

"_Us, we: they're several. Gawd, how many?"_ she thought, clenching her fists and continuing walking like nothing happened.

"That's the thing with all of you, dirty muties: you don't listen. You just do whatever you…" the car stopped abruptly, when Rogue did it. She crossed her arms over her chest and finally faced the man that was talking to her:

"Spit it out: what do yah want?"

He smiled evilly, and she could see he was wearing black gloves.

"I want to offer two options to you: you get on the car right now and be a good girl…" the back door was suddenly opened about an inch. "…or you force us to use other methods, that, I'm afraid, you'd dislike a lot".

With this one, she had been cornered two, three times... she had lost track already, in one night; and nothing made any sense... she never asked for any of this.

"Ah'm terrified" she said sarcastically, raising a brow.

"You should. See, last time we went easy on you. But I'm not in the mood for being _nice_ today". Her eyes opened widely as the man proved her he was serious, showing her a gun, and hiding it right away. "So let's stop babbling around, and get on".

They had killed already, and they'd be more than happy to get rid of another mutant with the simple pulling of a trigger. But she couldn't get on the car either, and if she did, they'd probably kill her anyway.

So, what to do?

She felt defeated; there was no way she could have a regular life, no matter how much she tried. She was stigmatized forever, not only because of her powers but also because of her past. And her present. There never seemed to be a way out for her.

But, actually, maybe there was; maybe she always found exactly that, literally: a way out. Remy said she always runs away? Let's prove him right. So Rogue took a deep breathe, trying every molecule of oxygen to fill her, because they could be the last ones; this people could shoot her, just like that. And she felt so bad for all the times she wished she was dead, in the loneliest nights, because it's another whole thing when you're facing the chance of it happening.

So she did it: she started running as fast as she could, in the opposite way the car was headed to; immediately, the screech of the tires was heard, as it turned around to follow her.

An alley, that's all she needed; a window, somewhere she could stick herself in, but there was nothing but walls and closed doors, and… was this even possible?

Right there, arriving on his bike, Remy had his eyes fixated on her.

"_Dieu!_ What a stubborn _fille_" he complained, pulling over by her side. She stayed paralyzed in surprise and staring at him, feeling almost dizzy in anxiety.

"All right" the Cajun shook his head, moving away a couple of feet, like he was leaving.

"Nah! Remy, wait please!" she yelled, not even thinking about any stupid pride that could still be on her.

He stopped again, letting her get on:

"Ah! Remy knew he'd hear y' sayin' dat some day".

"Let's just go!"

He made the engine of the bike roar again, and in less than two seconds they were already going fast down the street, the black car right behind them.

Note: If I used to be a little bit scared about how a chappie would turn, now I'm biting my nails! I don't know about you guys, but I'm digging this chap better than the other one I had written. At least it makes sense to me, and it's according to what I had first planned for this fic. So please! Tell me what you think! I'll be thankful forever! Btw, next chap is the last one. I know it seems abrupt, but I swear on my hamster's life: that's how I first planned it.


	18. Chapter 17: Maybe tomorrow

Disclaimer: don't own them!

Chapter 17: Maybe tomorrow.

_Sunday, 4:40 pm. _

She felt good.

Didn't try to figure out why, just letting it be for a while.

And then she remembered being so close to him, on the bike, with her face against his back and her arms wrapped around him. Close, just like the night they met and, for some reason, she decided to go where she had never been with anyone; close, like that time in the alley, next to the mall, when he wouldn't let her go; so close, and he wasn't afraid of her, not even after everything she had done.

There are times when a single thought stays stuck in your mind and you don't want to think about anything else, because you just don't want to loose it.

Like this time.

But then she finally opened her eyes and stretched her whole body, still lying on the bed. She wasn't wearing her own clothes anymore, but something that Jean gal had borrowed her; she said they'd go shopping soon.

"Shoppin'!" Rogue muttered, rolling on the bed to take a better look of the place. "That ain't too much of a familiar word t' me".

It was the same bedroom she had been in a few hours ago, when she decided to run away for the nth time; but now… now what?

The professor had said so many things, like this was the safest place for her and so on, but there was one thing she stayed hooked up to: could it be possible? It had been a long time since she refused to keep saving useless hopes, especially when Mystique told her she could never control _it_. But the Prof thought differently. Could it be?

So she got up, combed her hair and looked at herself in the mirror, wondering if this was the same person that put on some stupid heels and mini skirt, and went out to leave a track of unconscious guys behind her. She had always wanted to change that, and it seemed like now she had her chance, knocking right at the door.

A while later, she started to wander around the hallways of the huge X-mansion; she still felt weird, like she was an intruder about to get caught at any moment.

"Hi!" someone shrieked behind her, and she couldn't avoid gasping "Are you Rogue?"

She turned around to face a brunette girl with a pony tail, smiling widely.

"Yeah… an' yah're…?"

"I'm Katherine, but everyone calls me Kitty, so you can like totally call me that way too. Nice to meet you!" the younger girl offered her hand for a hand shaking.

"Sorry, Ah don't think yah'd like that" Rogue said, showing the other girl her bare hand.

"Oh! Oh… oh…" Kitty's worried face was rather funny. "I'm sorry! I told myself I wouldn't, like, mess up with it, and… oh… I'm so sorry…"

"Hey, don't worry" Rogue smiled slightly.

The other girl continued:

"Don't you wanna come to the movies with us?"

"Ah?"

"To the movies! Everyone's going"

Everyone? It seemed a big word; how many people really lived in the house? According to Remy's memories… quite a bunch.

"Eh, no, thanks; maybe some other time".

"All right" Kitty said friendly. "But I gotta introduce you to everyone, ok?"

"Ah guess" Rogue shrugged, and after saying good bye, Kitty left, walking down the hallway.

"Gosh… could Ah really be part of this people? Part of that _everyone_?" Rogue sighed, and kept walking.

She made it to the kitchen, which was way bigger than any place she had lived in during the past year. Now she came to think of it, she was a little hungry, so she opened the fridge and searched for something appetizing to eat; there were a lot of vegetables and fruits though.

"Don't these fellas eat real food?"

"Some of us do"

She raised her head out, to find Logan entering to the kitchen. He didn't look at her, he just went straight towards another fridge and took out sausages, bread, ketchup, mayonnaise and butter. Quite a nutritional bomb.

"Go ahead" he announced Rogue, who went and grabbed some milk, cereal and cookies.

They both sat down at the table, preparing their meals, and even though she tried not to make eye contact with him, she noticed he sliced the bread with his claws.

It was starting to rain outside.

"Goddamn it!!" the Canadian exclaimed, when part of the ketchup went straight to stain his t-shirt. "So… I heard you ran away again, last night" he said brusquely.

"Yeah…" she stuck inside her mouth the first spoonful of cereal. "But Ah'm here again, so… that's the whole story".

"Is it?" he raised a brow. "Can't blame you, anyway. I'd have done the same thing".

"Why? Is it that bad in here?"

"No. But I don't appreciate being bossed around either".

She finally stared at him fully; he didn't seem so mean at this hour of the day.

Her bowl was almost empty when Scott showed up:

"Rogue, how are you?"

"Ah'm 'kay" she answered vaguely; seemed like everybody had something to ask to the new girl on the block.

"I'm glad. This is the best place for you; for all of us" he continued. "You'll be safe from that kind of people, the ones chasing you yesterday".

She really didn't know what to say to this, because she had already heard it about a dozen times in less than twenty four hours; so she just said the first random thing se could think of: "Yeah… those damn crack heads need to get a life".

"Eh… just wanted to let you know" Cyclops adopted this patronizing attitude: "We don't curse in this house".

"Oh" she raised her brows, and rolled her eyes a little; then, pointing out at Logan: "An' how come he can curse an' Ah can't?"

Scott seemed all weirded out at hearing this: "Oh… eh… well… he shouldn't…" he stuttered. That's when Logan turned towards him, narrowinghis eyes:

"You better repeat that, Summers, but this time, say it to _these_" he popped out the claws in one threatening fist. Scott frowned and had no other choice but leaving, shaking his head.

Rogue was chuckling, realizing not everything was rainbows and butterflies about these people.

"We're gonna be getting along" Logan recognized, staring at her, and kept eating.

(…)

_Sunday, 7:05 pm._

The library was amazing; they had all kinds of books and so many, they hardly fitted in the big room. But she'd have time to read them later on; now she just wanted to go back to her bedroom and rest another while. It had been such a different day compared to her previous life: she was in a real home, with people trying to be nice at her; heck, she even had two full fridges, when a couple of days back, she only had last day's leftovers. Things seemed to be getting better… that was unusual.

So she climbed up the stairs and walked down the hallway slowly. She didn't want to, but she wanted it so bad at the same time: to see Remy. A part of her kept telling her it'd be really awkward to live under the same roof than him after everything that had happened, specially her little strip show; but something else inside of her, reminded her she hadn't felt so good and so close to anyone in ages, and maybe never before. So she walked the last steps to _her_ bedroom, waiting to suddenly hear his voice behind her back.

But it didn't happen.

So she came in, sighing, stopping in her tracks right away:

"What in the hell are yah doin', LeBeau?"

He was lying contentedly on the bed, his hands crossed underneath his neck, not to mention the smirk on his face.

"Dere y'are, _chere_! Remy's waitin' for y', of course".

She rolled her eyes, trying to look annoyed, but not quite accomplishing it.

"All right… Ah ain't gonna ask anythin' else, just get out of mah bed, would yah?"

"Yer bed?!" he raised his brows in mock surprise. "Dat means y're stayin', _hein_?"

"Yep… so it seems".

"Den I'll have t' keep an eye on y', so y' don't flee from us, an' go get 'n troubles again".

"Ah can very well take care of mahself, yah know?…"

"_Pardon_?!" he interrupted her, irony drew all over his face.

"…most times…" she continued, realizing she couldn't lie about this one. "… Or, sometimes". When pronouncing the last syllable of this word, her mouth formed a smile Remy thought was one of the most dazzling things he had ever seen; she was smiling sincerely, recognizing she had messed up, getting along with him. "Now: get outta there!"

"_Bien_, I will; but I've got my conditions".

"Conditions?!"

"_Oui_; if y' want yer bed back, y' first have t' check in here" and saying this, he showed her one of the pockets of his jacket.

"What?! What for? Yah crazy? God knows what's been in there"

"Ah, I better get myself comfortable; I kinda like it here, actually" Remy said, looking around the bedroom.

Rogue sighed deeply and narrowed her eyes; what was he up to this time?

"If there's somethin' nasty in there, Cajun, Ah swear Ah'll…" she did as he asked, and then her eyes brightened up in surprise. "Oh mah Gawd!" she laughed, taking the little turtle out of his pocket. "How did yah…? When…?"

"Y' thought Remy was gonna let y' escape from our date, without sayin' _good night_? Went t' make a little visit, but de Wolverine an' Jean arrived first".

Then, she sit on the bed, next to him, and he sit up by her side; she stared at Sugah's face: the turtle wasn't displaying any signs of extra joyfulness or happiness to meet Rogue again, so she placed it on her leg, next to her knee.

"Thanks; this is the only thing I'd need to bring from mah… place" she whispered, looking down at the turtle; it was so hard to meet Remy's eyes when memories of _that night_ came to her mind. "An'… thanks for last night, an'…" it didn't get any easier, so she closed her eyes "…Ah'm sorry 'bout what Ah did the other time, in the bar, an'… later on, an' stealin' your car an'…"

"Hey, hey" he forced her to look at him, raising her head by her chin. "Forget all dat; we wouldn't have met each other, otherwise. We wouldn't be here talkin', livin' together…"

"What do yah mean with _livin' together_?"

"We technically do, _cherie_: in de same house".

"Whatever" Rogue huffed. "But anyway, Ah feel like an idiot every time Ah think 'bout it. An' Ah can't believe Ah'm even sayin' this t' yah, but… Ah'm sorry. Again".

"I wouldn't change a thin' of it" Remy sentenced, making her heart beat a little faster. "Besides, it was sorta fun, lookin' back at it".

"Really?" she smiled. "Was it fun t' be fooled by a gal?"

"_Oui_, for a change" he winked. "But y' know? Y' still owe me one thing".

"What?"

"Y' left poor Remy all alone in our date last night…"

"It wasn't a date"

"It was"

"It wasn't!"

"So, I was thinkin': why don't we take our… no-date right were we left it?"

She bit her lip before answering: "An' why would a guy like yahself possibly want t' go out with a girl like me?"

"Y' mean: smart, obstinate as hell, interestin', gorgeous…?"

"Untouchable" she pointed out, swallowing hard, but he didn't seem surprised or weirded out at this.

"I was wonderin' de same thin'; until y' came in by dat door an' I saw yer face again. Dere's somethin' 'bout it, y' know? Dere's somethin' 'bout y'…" but then, she abruptly started to laugh. "What?"

"Gosh, Remy: that was so cheap" she giggled, attempting not to fall for it; not to believe in his words, and trying to take them just as a joke.

"Why?! What do y' want me t' do?! It's true!" he didn't want to mention it right then, but he heard the conversation she had with the Professor; he told her that, with plenty of mental work stuff sessions, she could gain complete control of her power. _"Every mutant can accomplish it; you do not have to be the exception_" Xavier had said to her.

When her laughter faded away, he continued: "So, what do y' say? T'morrow night?"

Rogue smiled again, comprehending how much her life had changed in a few days; it's in the little things, in the smallest decisions we take, that we can transform everything around us, without even realizing of it at the moment. She could have gone to another bar; she could have rejected Remy, or she could have even never left the hotel _that night_. But it seemed she had chosen right, for once.

And she suddenly remembered about this song she liked a lot:

"…_I __wanna breeze and an open mind,  
I wanna swim in the ocean,  
Wanna take my time for me  
All me.  
So maybe tomorrow  
I'll find my way home…"_

She finally stared into Remy's eyes, with no shame about the past: "Maybe".

"Mebbe?" he repeated hopefully.

"Yeah… maybe tomorrow".

"_Bien_; fair enough".

Sugah gave a few steps on Rogue's leg, and suddenly fell on the floor. But it was ok, she was a strong turtle. So she walked a little more and found a nice cosy place on the carpet, in a corner of the room.

It was comfortable there. She kinda liked it.

END

NOTE. WOOHOO!! It feels so funny to write that word: "end". WOW! This fic meant so much to me, I really feel like it's been with me all this time, and I wanna thank you guys so much for joining me. There were times when I thought I had messed up big time, and I got to think there was no way out with this story, but then I managed to put it together, and I wouldn't have accomplished it without the support of each and every single one of you: reviewers, and readers. Thank you! Cookies and friendly turtles for you guys! :-)

P.D.: the guys in the bar that attacked Remy, they were security guys of the bar, or friends with the guy Rogue was, and Remy hit first (choose the one you like better). Wanted to explain it in the fic, but I didn't find the right place for it. Anyway!! Thanks again!! :-)

P.D.2: The song is "Maybe tomorrow", by Stereophonics.

P.D.3: Thanks to "The oh so bored one"; she/he unintentionally helped me with a line of this fic, that I took from the review. Hehehe ;-)


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